Just Returning Yer Sword
by Soulful-Gray
Summary: Another bad guy wants the Ronins' Armors. But to get the armors and everything else it wants, it has to transport three magic-weilding girls from an AU into the Ronin World. Rated R just in case, and lots of silliness.
1. Oooh, It Looks Like Sage's!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, are mine. Blah.  
  
Chapter 1 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Robyn stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom, silently naming off the constellations she had stuck there with plastic stars.  
  
Orion, the Winter W, Big Dipper... On and on she went, searching out all her glowing favorites, and wondering faintly what her two best friends were doing at the moment. Katrin was more than likely staring at the big silver moon painted on her ceiling, and Lindsey was probably contemplating whether or not she should add more rays to her happy sun-face.  
  
She chuckled a bit and repositioned her body on the mattress so she could have a better view of a different section of her ceiling, which was sectioned off by thick, rough-hewn wooden beams. The square patch she was looking at now only held a few stars and weren't positioned in any known pattern.  
  
She'd found a package of differently colored stars at a yard sale and had purchased them immediately. Red, dark blue, light blue, orange and green stars formed a five point circle on the outside, and inside there were four more stars of maroon, maroon and black, navy and black, and green and black. The inner stars had just been regular stars, but she'd painted them with glow in the dark paint and mixed the colors. And just because she loved having even numbers, she had stuck a single white star in the middle.  
  
The names of these stars she said out loud. "Wildfire, Strata, Torrent, Hardrock, Halo..." Around and around the two circle she went, constantly repeating their names. She was just about to zone out, when the phone rang and she snapped out of it.  
  
Reaching over, annoyed, she grabbed the cordless on her bed and hit talk. "Lindsey, what have I told you-"  
  
"Would you stop spouting them off for Pete's sake?! I could have heard you on the other side of the world!"  
  
"I was about to go in my zone and you ruined it! You know I'm better rested when I'm in my zone and I've got to be rested for tomorrow. So do you for that matter." Robyn's voice was a calm alto, and it was a little husky from nearly zoning as she put it.  
  
"Listen, I know you meditate better when you've repeated their damned names about a million times, but Katrin and I need sleep, too. Could you at least keep up a wall or something so we don't have to hear your bloody chanting?" Lindsey's voice was soft when she wasn't annoyed, and a bit high-pitched when she was; in the blink of an eye it had switched from the second to the first.  
  
"I'm sorry Lindsey," Robyn said crossly. "But you know I'm not good at walls. I have to concentrate too hard, and I can't concentrate on anything when I'm zoning. My brick and mortar is low in supply, and the mason called in sick."  
  
"Okay, smart ass. But at least keep the chant non-verbal." Lindsey pleaded. "That helps a little. We need rest for tomorrow, too."  
  
"Okay, already!" Robyn said, a bit exasperated, but smiling anyway. "What if I chanted something else? You know I could always conjugate verbs in Spanish, 'cause you know that could put me-" Click.  
  
"Ha," she said into the mouthpiece, grinning.  
  
Moments later, she began conjugating...  
  
"Voy, va, vas, vamos, van." The phone rang and she chuckled.  
  
The next morning, Robyn piled herself and her luggage into her cute little Pontiac, kept a map handy on the console, and began her little road trip.  
  
Summer had begun, and Robyn was heading back home. Her first year of college had gone off without a hitch, and she was ready to skedaddle for a while. She was only going home for three weeks, so she could see her family and friends again, and then she would go back to California so she could start working for a small graphic arts company.  
  
It was too expensive to fly, plus she hated planes, so Robyn was driving from Cali. to Illinois, not that hard of a trip, really, and she knew the way rather well. It would take a few days, but while she went she was going to do a little sight-seeing. She was going to pick up Lindsey and Katrin, and they were going for a little summer trip. Where, she didn't know, but they had been planning for a while, and she would see them today.  
  
Basically, the only plans they had so far consisted of getting together and running around helter-skelter, going places they hadn't been yet. They'd even thought of going out of the country on a spur of the moment; it'd be hell getting tickets, but knowing Katrin, they could get tickets anywhere in the blink of an eye.  
  
Katrin's family was filthy-stinking rich, so any funds they needed were taken care of, and she had a lot of prominent connections; so with the snap of her slender fingers, they'd be flying first-class anywhere they wished. Katrin, having been brought up with many of the finer things in life, was pampered and sometimes a bit snobbish, but she was also a kind and gentle girl. She was pretty cautious, although she followed Robyn and Lindsey's grand schemes without complaint, usually having the best time of them all.  
  
Lindsey had popped up out of nowhere in Katrin's life, attending the same all-girl school and turning the place into a madhouse. She'd moved from some obscure town in Ohio, and shot into town with a wild-streak the length of the Mississippi River. She had only attended Katrin's school on a special invitation, and nearly got kicked out until Katrin's family stepped in and offered to pay for her schooling. Lindsey's wild streak had cooled as the two teenagers became friends.  
  
Robyn's life was a little more ordinary, aside from a few special things. She was a bit older than both of them, went to a public school all her life, and met Katrin and Lindsey by chance in a Suncoast store. She'd been going through some of her favorite titles of anime, when she'd knocked over a slight girl with long black hair.  
  
Immediately apologizing, she helped the girl up and they began discussing favorites in the beloved genre of anime.  
  
"Name's Robyn," she said, grinning ear to ear.  
  
"I'm Katrin." Katrin's voice had been polite, and kind of formal. "It's a pleasure."  
  
Moments letter, a tall, slender redhead had popped up and begun dragging Robyn out of the store, excited over something she'd found in another store.  
  
Then, the redhead had stopped and turned around to stare Robyn in the eyes. Katrin must have noticed something too, because she was giving off the same intent aura. Robyn had smiled knowingly and walked out of the store, knowing they would follow.  
  
In the food court, she selected a secluded booth, and sat down. They sat down across from her, puzzled expressions crossing their faces.  
  
"You feel it too, eh?" Robyn asked as she leaned back. "I know it feels weird. It always does when you realize the feeling's there. I'm Robyn."  
  
"Lindsey. What feeling?" Lindsey's eyes, which were a clear blue, were narrowed a bit in distrust.  
  
"The feeling of completion, of a circle formed," Robyn, who was a blonde, said cryptically. "Nothing is accidental. Our meeting was meant to be." As if to prove her point, she lay down a card that had appeared in her hand. It wasn't a tarot card or anything. It had a field of black surrounded by twisted green Celtic knots.  
  
"What are you, a witch?" Lindsey asked skeptically.  
  
"No. I wouldn't say that. The term witch sounds so... cruel- outdated if you will."  
  
Katrin picked up the card and stared at the black field of the card. "What's this supposed to mean?" She cried out as she felt a definite jolt of something, power, course through her and she dropped the card back down. It was smoking a little.  
  
"It means that everything is right." Robyn smiled.  
  
Amazed by the card, Lindsey had picked it up as well, as if spellbound, and received the same jolt. She too dropped it, and it lay smoldering on the table. The Celtic knots glowed a bright green before fading softly as Robyn picked it up and banished it from sight.  
  
"Does it feel right to you?" she asked softly, her gray eyes twinkling with mischief. "Do you feel as though we are complete?"  
  
They had, and the instant friendship amazed the two skeptics, who couldn't seem to get enough of powers newfound.  
  
Katrin was discovered to be quite handy at conjuring, and she carried around a special little bag she had charmed herself, a bag that, on command, would give her anything she asked for. It had taken a long time to make the bag, as it was woven from fine shreds of silken material, and each little weave was done with a blessing to produce the desired effect. She could conjure many things, and as she called forth this special power, her brown eyes would blacken to pitch, and sparkle as though stars were inlaid in their depths.  
  
Lindsey was good with charms and potions, and had a cute little travel pack she carried around. It was a small case that contained a hundred little corked bottles of different ingredients and some ready-to-use potions for emergencies. Her potions really didn't require any magic, but her magic was the knowledge of mixing the ingredients. She had a huge store of ingredients at Katrin's mansion, where they were well-hidden in a secret room. Lindsey's charms were quite efficient, all three girls having quite a few of them.  
  
Robyn, as their teacher, knew how to do a fair amount of many things. But she was especially efficient when it came to the elements and foresight. Her connections with fire, water, earth, air, and life made her quite a dangerous little sorceress, as she was able to bring the five up at will. And her foresight was dangerous as well; she couldn't stand seeing the future, so she stored all that power in one of three cards, like the one she had set down before Katrin and Lindsey. She meditated frequently, or as she put it, she zoned and her telepathy, though one-way, was strong with her two friends.  
  
They weren't Wicca, although they did fully support that religious group. No, they were something entirely different, something that did not require a name. Neither did it require any sorts of prayers or spells to really bring about their power. Their magic did not require words, but feelings inside, innate beauties that gave them a connection. Though they did use potions and charms, the powers of said objects were brought forth through their innate power.  
  
Robyn drove and drove, singing along with the radio, and finally hit a small town called Stockton about noon. She, Lindsey, and Katrin were meeting in a smaller town near it called Sutter Creek. They would tour the shops for a while and then head out. She drove on through the winding streets, hit country, and then finally came upon the tourist town.  
  
She saw the two girls' rental car immediately, sensing their presence as she drove past and angled into a parking spot. She saw Lindsey's familiar red head through a small crowd that had gathered at a shop window.  
  
"Lin!" she called out as she pulled her stiff body from the driver's seat. She was tackled in a hug when she stepped onto the sidewalk. "Oof!" she cried as two sets of arm wound around her waist and she grinned as she hugged her "sisters" back.  
  
"Robyn, you've got to come see this! I just know you're going to love it!" Katrin squealed and began dragging the blonde to the crowded window.  
  
"Not that you're not obsessed already, and you really don't need to see this, we figured you'd find out sooner or later anyway," Lin said dryly as she jogged to keep up. Katrin sawed the crown in half and practically threw Robyn, or Robyn as she liked to call her, against the window.  
  
"What are you- OOH!" Robyn squealed as she took in the sight of a beautiful sword resting peacefully against green silk. "It looks like Sage's no- datchi from Ronin Warriors!" Her gray eyes were huge as she took in the details. "It looks exactly like it..." She whipped around and jumped towards the door, but the big glaring, CLOSED sign meanly turned her away. "Opens at 1:00. Oooooh!! We have to go in when it opens!"  
  
"Yep, we figured you'd act that way," Katrin said, rolling her eyes. "We shouldn't have showed it to her, Lin."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Lin said, "But you know she would have seen it regardless."  
  
Robyn was talking to some of the other on-lookers.  
  
"Yeah, I've been waiting and waiting for this sword to come in," one guy told her. "It's supposed to be practically ancient and worth a fortune. This guy is selling it real cheap, I heard, and I'd give my life to buy it." He attempted a charming smile on Robyn. "I'm and avid collector, myself. I have hundreds of antique swords. Maybe I could show you my collection sometime." He waggled an eyebrow at her, not seeming to realize she was now completely ignoring her.  
  
"If the guy's smart, he'll only sell to someone worthy," Robyn said cryptically to her sisters. "I have-"  
  
"- a feeling?" the two girls finished simultaneously.  
  
"Exactly!" Robyn said, grinning.  
  
"You always have a feeling where that show's concerned," Lin said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"I can't see how you can stand that show," Katrin said, in a bit of an uppity voice. "It's so old! It's boring!"  
  
"Hey! You don't hear me slamming Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Yu What's-it's-oh, do ya?" Robyn said huffily, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"That's because you like those shows!" Katrin cried.  
  
"Oh... yeah..."  
  
If there was one rift between the sisters it was this. Normally they had no problem liking one another's taste in anime, but when it came to Ronin Warriors, they just could not understand why Robyn was so obsessed with the show. Robyn always said it was because she had a taste for classics. And they always retorted that Ronin Warriors wasn't a classic, it was a trash- ic.  
  
"Well, you can at least admit that the guys in it are hot, can't you?" she pleaded.  
  
"We'll give you that," Lin grudgingly replied.  
  
"And their weapons are cool."  
  
"Kinda," Lin agreed again.  
  
"And the white tiger is pretty," Robyn said as a clincher, playing on Katrin's weak spot, which was anything considering white tigers.  
  
"Now that's a reason!" the brunette said with finality.  
  
"So it means we can go in and attempt to wheedle a deal with the shop- keeper?"  
  
"We didn't say that!" the two younger girls cried in unison, marching away.  
  
"PLEASE!" she squeaked, bursting into a load of crocodile tears, ones even her sisters couldn't ignore. They turned back to her, and groaning, gave into the inevitable, not wanting to cause a scene. Though she was the oldest, Robyn was quite bratty, and knew when and what buttons to push. She was a constant manipulator and quite a schemer, and had an insane sense of humor, overlying a seriousness few people saw.  
  
"Okay! Okay! Cut it out already!" Lin said, and leaned against the wall of the collectors' store. "We'll go in."  
  
"Thank you!" Robyn grinned and hugged both her sisters, then began to impatiently wait for the door to open. They only had a few more minutes, and quite a few people had been drawn into the crowd. They were all there for the sword; some were dressed in suits, obviously dealers in antiques, and others were obviously just wanting to get a glimpse of the sword. Robyn, wanting to know of the sword's importance to them, pumped for information.  
  
She got the best information from a very expensively dressed woman, who radiated elegance and a business-head.  
  
"It was originally in Japan, owned by the store owner's family," she said evenly, eyeing Robyn's exuberance with a kind of detached exuberance. Silly girl, she thought. "It came over the market's eyes by chance, when the owner decided to sell it. There is no other sword like it, and has only been known to my company and many others for a short while." Her cool eyes swept over Robyn's casual jeans and t-shirt. "You're not planning on dibbing on it, are you?"  
  
"I was thinking on it."  
  
"Silly of you to think it really. My company will get the sword. We'll offer any price he asks, and can easily top any price any of these people can offer," she elegantly motioned towards the crowd.  
  
"Really," Robyn said, as though awed. "Happy bidding then," she said with a fake cheerfulness. Annoyed, she stepped back to her friends and relayed the info.  
  
"She's snobbier than you, Trina," she muttered. Katrin took this as a compliment, since she hated being referred to as a snob, and whipped out her credit card.  
  
"In that case, I'll just have to buy that sword! See how high she can really go," Katrin said, waving around the card that flashed off her family's company name.  
  
"I don't think that will be necessary," Robyn said, her eyes glazing over a bit as she stared at a card that she had conjured. "We don't have to go as high as you think. The shop-keeper is quite wise."  
  
The card she was looking at showed her the current thoughts and feelings of whomever she wished. It was one of her innate powers she had stored in the cards so she could control them. It showed a field of black and twisted Celtic knots, but the knots on this one were red. The knots of green on the card she used before Lin and Katrin stored her power of foresight, and a third card, with blue, would show her a person's past.  
  
"He will sell to the one who deserves the sword, for even the smallest amount of money," she said softly, pocketing the card.  
  
"Did you see who it was?" Lin asked, curious. "No, since I did not call the Green."  
  
Feeling silly that she had not thought of that, Lin continued. "Hopefully it's you. You'd worship that thing as a Wicca would the Goddess."  
  
"Even still," Robyn said, "I do not know that it will be me. I would like to touch to sword so I know its intent. I believe the keeper is going by the sword's wishes."  
  
"Robyn, it's a sword," Katrin reminded her gently. "Not a living, breathing thing."  
  
"You have doubt?" Robyn asked, raising an eyebrow in humor. "This coming from you, of all people? Should I cast you as a hypocrite?"  
  
"Stuff it, Bird," Katrin grumbled, silently taking Robyn's point.  
  
Finally the sign was flipped over, and the shop keeper, a well aged old man, obviously a native Japanese, opened the door to let in the would-be patrons of his store. He bowed to each and every one of them as they passed, although Robyn, Katrin, and Lin were the only to return the respects.  
  
"Welcome to my store," he said in his kind old voice, straightening from his bow the same time the girls. "I assume that you, as are all my guests, are here to see the sword?"  
  
"Yes sir," Robyn said, smiling. "If only to touch it, at least. Just that much would make me pleased as punch."  
  
He laughed and led them to the window display, where everybody was crammed.  
  
"Follow me then. I can grant that simple wish to beautiful young girls." Like the Red Sea did for Moses, the crowed parted and allowed him to step to the window. He lifted the sword from its stand and carefully carried it to the three girls. It amazed him that he accomplished such a thing, since the sword was almost as long as he was tall. He bowed as he held it before Robyn, who reached forward to run her hands along the blade.  
  
The instant her finger tips grazed the blade, her gray eyes lightened and she smiled politely as he straightened once again. He gazed into her eyes for a moment and offered the same honor to Lin and Katrin. Fascinated, the girls took the chance. They just smiled a bit, not having the amazing vision their teacher and sister possessed.  
  
"I believe the sword is yours, young friend," he said to Robyn, and bowed once more, offering the huge sword up to her. Awed with the honor, she bowed and took up the sword, gazing at it with the affection a mother would show a child.  
  
"What?!" the other patrons cried in anger and disbelief as they surged forward to surround them. Robyn, ever confident and not fearing a mob in the least, simply held the sword in reverent hands and carried her chin high, daring them to question the old man's choice for a buyer.  
  
The angry group raged against the old mans decision for a full twenty minutes before he threatened to call the police.  
  
"By law, he stated firmly, I own that sword, and I will give it to whomever I please at whatever price I wish. Is it not in my rights to choose whom the sword goes to? money is not an issue. Now I ask that you leave my store and do not question my decision." Robyn, smirking, sent out a small shockwave of her mental power and ordered, rather loudly, for them to leave, the order echoing through their heads as they were pushed from the shop.  
  
"Now that this mess is taken care of, I would have a word with you girls in my back room. Follow me."  
  
In his office, he lit some incense and proceeded to tell them of the sword's history.  
  
"It came to my family quite abruptly," he said in his slow time-beaten way. "Many years ago, it appeared to my ancestor, who took it up, but he was never allowed to use it against anyone. The sword would not permit it."  
  
Robyn caressed the hilt with awe as she listened.  
  
"The soul of the sword did not wish to be used by any hand but its own master's. It spoke to my ancestor, and told him that he must help the sword return to its master, across worlds. It told him that his family would one day find the person who could travel across worlds.  
  
"You can never use it, but the sword has chosen you. It spoke to you when you touched it, didn't it. It showed you the other world."  
  
"Yes," Robyn said softly.  
  
"And because you are that person, I will not charge you for this sword. There is no price, but honor and respect, that can cover this cost of this sword." He cast his gaze on Katrin and Lin. "And you two. You will go with her. A circle should not be broken."  
  
"Why did the sword choose me?" Robyn asked after they had absorbed this for a moment.  
  
"I do not know that. Maybe it is the power you three hold, or maybe it is for an entirely different reason than that. However, it was meant to be. There are no accidents." He stood from his desk and retreated into the main room of the shop.  
  
They followed slowly and allowed the man to wrap the sword in silk and tissue paper, and then he slid it into a giant case.  
  
"Feel free to look around. I am still a business man, and I can never pass up the possibility of a sale," he said humorously as he packaged the sword.  
  
Laughing brightly, Robyn drug Lin and Katrin around the shelves of merchandise.  
  
"You knew, didn't you?" Lin accused.  
  
"No, actually I didn't," Robyn said softly as she peered into a display of ornate pendants.  
  
"Not even a feeling?" Katrin said snidely. "Yeah right. You got a vibe, didn't you. And that stuff about another world. It's true, isn't it." It was a statement, not a question, but Robyn nodded anyway.  
  
"Yes. I felt the sword's soul when I touched it. 'Sides my obsession with the Ronin Warriors, I just had to touch the sword."  
  
"What did you see in the other world?" Lin asked as she picked up a small dagger.  
  
"Not much, really. A field of grass, heavy clouds, strong wind. Nothing that rings a bell to me." She selected a beautiful jade pendant, one carved to look like a koi-fish, and grinned at its happy face.  
  
"So it's not a stupid Ronin setting," Katrin said. "Good. Then it's similarity to whaz-is-face's sword just coincidental, and we're not going to get stuck in that world."  
  
Robyn made a face and picked up the little box that went with the goldfish and decided to buy it. "Unfortunately, we won't. I think it would be cool. But it's just a series, after all." She looked sad as she moved through the rest of the store.  
  
They went to the cash register and paid for their things. Lin bought the small dagger she had eyed earlier, Katrin bought a lovely jeweled comb, and Robyn got the koifish pendant. Robyn picked up the case that held the sword and bade the old man a fond farewell and put a charm of blessings on his store.  
  
"The sword will protect you," the old man said softly. "In the hands of its master, it will watch over you three. Its master's companions will do the same. Be wary of the evils you will face." They had just stepped out the door when he whispered this to them, and they barely caught it.  
  
Evils? What had he meant by that? They assumed they would go to the other world, return the sword and be done with it. What evils had he spoken of?  
  
"That was kind of freaky, you have to admit," Lin said. "Normally I would be like 'Hoo-rah! Yes! Adventure!' I don't know about this. It seems..."  
  
"Foreboding?" Katrin suggested as they piled their stuff into the trunk of Robyn's Pontiac.  
  
"Yeah, I was kind of surprised at you, Lin. I'd have thought your wild streak would be screaming for this chance at adventure," Robyn said, still grinning. She seemed a bit impervious to the serious nature of the situation. But Lin's wild side had calmed a bit more than anyone realized. She was still reckless, but the feeling of real danger ahead was chilling her to the bone.  
  
"I'm surprised you don't feel the same as I do, oh wise teacher," Lin said somewhat sarcastically. They were transferring baggage from Lin's rental to Robyn's Pontiac in preparation for their journey. The rental company would pick their car up where it was, so they weren't worried about it.  
  
"And we really need time to prepare to travel there," Katrin said timidly. "We need to meditate and cleanse and-"  
  
"And knowing our luck," Lin interrupted, "though good, we won't have time to do that. All I want to know is when this is going to happen."  
  
"I can't tell you that," Robyn said as she climbed into the car. Lin sat in the passenger seat, and Katrin was in back.  
  
"Why don't you look then?" Lin whined impatiently.  
  
"And ruin the thought of a surprise?! No way!" Laughing, Robyn started the engine and pulled out of her parking spot.  
  
It never occurred to them that they had not stopped at any of the other shops as planned, nor had they given them any thought once they were in the old man's store. It seemed as though only one purpose had been evident to them.  
  
And as they drove along, it never occurred to them that things would happen sooner than planned. Heck, even when they were sucked into a sudden void, it barely registered in their minds as the car was pulled through a sort of black tunnel.  
  
A scream let loose from Katrin's lips as they came to a sudden screeching halt in a field of grass, and dirt and plant-life burst from under the tires as Robyn hit the brakes. The sky on the horizon was dark and ominous, and a strong gust of wind practically rattled the windows of the car. Their hearts raced and their breaths came in short, fast spurts as they clung to the edges of their seats.  
  
"That was fun," Robyn said to lighten the mood, resulting in a bruise on her shoulder, courtesy of Lin's fist. Rubbing her shoulder, she glanced up into her mirror, and her eyes widened a bit. "You know chiquitas, it could be worse. We could be surrounded by a bunch of nether soldiers who look like Wizard of Oz rejects."  
  
"Robyn, stop with the Ronin references!" Lin yelled. Her face was reddening to a curious shade of red.  
  
"Well, since it's not worse, and you definitely won't even come close to liking the better scenario, I'll just not say anything, and let the better scenario fold out."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Lin snapped and turned around to get a look at the better scenario Robyn was rambling on about, and her face whitened.  
  
Rather than Wizard of Oz rejects, they were surrounded by a veritable rainbow of men dressed in curiously fashioned armors.  
  
"This has to be hell."  
  
"For you!" Robyn squealed in delight.  
  
As you can see, I didn't get very in depth in any of the characters' emotions. I plan to change that in future chapters, but this chapter isn't really about the introduction of characters' thoughts. Anywho, I hoped you enjoyed this and I would love it if you reviewed? Pretty, pretty please? With whipped cream and a cherry on top?  
  
Soulful Gray 


	2. Would You Answer the Questions!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, are mine. Blah.  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
Chapter 2 By: Soulful Gray  
  
"Robyn Elena March! This is not cool! This might be your obsessive fantasy come to life, but it is not ours!" Lin yelled as she reached over to hit the automatic door lock. One of the Ronins, Ryo, was walking up to the car with his katanas drawn and a wary look on his face. "Damnit! Make him go away!"  
  
"Hell no! We are not going to kick our chance for adventure into the dirt!" Robyn was getting pissed now. Why did it always come to this when anything remotely Ronin-like popped up? "And do you really think locking the door is going to help?"  
  
Robyn had put up with this criticism for as long as they had known of her love for the show. The past four years had been great, their sister bond as strong as anything, but this was the only really argument they had. And she was getting tired of it. Why couldn't they just accept that she like the Ronins and wasn't about to change her mind any time soon?  
  
"Would you stop your bloody bitching and just live with it?! We're here, this place is real, now go with it!" Growling she unlocked her door and threw herself out of it.  
  
Ryo went a little defensive at the abrupt appearance of the girl. He didn't know if he should trust her or what. After all, it wasn't exactly normal for a car to fly out of the middle of nowhere and crash into a field. Well, considering what his life was like, that was pretty mild, but it was still a surprising even nonetheless.  
  
He and his group had been enjoying a nice picnic on a section of land that Mia owned. It was a lovely spot, with a few trees for shade and enough room to start a game of soccer. It had been nice and sunny, up and till a few moments ago when the sky had turned dark and the wind had started picking up.  
  
Ryo had gotten a feeling on the back of his neck; the sudden changed of weather had been to abrupt, to unnatural, and he had made his feelings known to the other Ronins. The Warlords and Kayura had also felt the same ominous feeling. So, putting Mia and Yulie safely behind White Blaze, they had donned their armors and waited.  
  
It had been a nice break after the short but grueling battle they had fought only a few months ago. The sudden appearance of a warrior who introduced himself as Kaiden, the Hunter, had interrupted what had been a time of peace since their war against Talpa. But the fight against Kaiden had been short-lived, last only a day or so, before Kaiden up and disappeared. But not before disarming one of the Ronins.  
  
Kaiden's blade, a cruel sword edged with blackened poison, had pierced through Sage's armor, and for some reason, the Hunter had banished Sage's no-datchi from their world. Sage's recovery had been bad enough, but now the Ronin of Wisdom was only able to fight with a poor replacement sword, something he immensely disliked.  
  
Ryo didn't know why Kaiden had taken away Sage's sword, or the reasons behind his sudden attack and disappearance, but he figured it had something to do with these girls that had popped up out of nowhere. He had a feeling that they would see Kaiden shortly.  
  
The blonde that flew out of the car was tall and staring at him without fear of him or his katanas.  
  
"Who are you?" He tried to sound threatening as he took another cautious step towards her. He could feel his friends closing in behind him, their weapons also drawn in suspicion.  
  
"Hello! My name's Robyn, and the two whiners in the car are Lindsey and Katrin." She seemed oblivious to any threat they posed as she stepped up closer to them. "You might as well put your weapons away since I'm not connected to anything even remotely evil. Oh! Sage! You're missing your sword! What a coincidence since I have a present for you!" Without missing a beat she skipped over to the trunk of her car and the sudden movement surprised Rowen, who let loose an arrow.  
  
She squeaked, an amusing sound, as the arrow pierced the metal of the car just in front of her. Her eyes widened and she shot an amazed look at the blue Ronin.  
  
"You shot at me!" Her eyebrows drew together in a frown as she glared at him. "I can't believe you shot at me! You freakin' twinkie!" She eyed the arrow. "My car! You stupid cream filled puff!"  
  
"How did you know my name?" Sage demanded as he stepped forward when she paused for air in her tirade. He had long since gone back to his sub armor and the white and green plates seemed to glow with his apparent anger.  
  
"What?" Now off-track, she flipped her gaze to him.  
  
"I said-"  
  
"I know what you said, for crying out loud!" she cried as she turned to jerk the arrow out of her car. "It just caught me off guard! It amazes me that people find the need to repeat themselves after somebody says 'what' to them. Not everybody is hearing impaired!" She gripped tightly and put her foot against the bumper so she got some leverage, and then she pulled hard. The arrow came loose in a moment and she tossed it at Rowen.  
  
"Then why don't you answer the question," he commanded coolly.  
  
"Because." She pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked the trunk. "And like a said, I have a present for you. But if you all are going to be this rude, I might not give it to you."  
  
"You call this rude when you crashed our picnic?" Kentoe all but growled.  
  
"I realize your stomach is a bottomless pit, but how was I to know that when I popped into this world I'd be wrecking your little party?" she said snidely.  
  
"How in the world do you know about us, little girl?" came the next smooth question as Dais put away his weapon.  
  
"Considering I'm not all that little, I find that the how of it is quite simple. But I have no reason to explain myself. I'm here for a purpose, and if you all would shut up, lighten up, and put up your weapons I'd be more than happy to be more accommodating to your requests for answers!"  
  
On a silent mutual agreement, the Ronins and Warlords all went back to their sub armors and stood in a sort of half-circle around the back of her car.  
  
"Could you get those other two out here?" Ryo asked calmly. "We don't know that they aren't planning anything."  
  
"Sure. They're harmless though, really." With that, she unlocked and jerked open Lin and Katrin's car doors, just as Mia and Yulie had cautiously come up behind the guard of White Blaze.  
  
"No! I am not leaving this car!" Katrin squealed as she hung onto the seat for dear life. "I will not be open to Ronin spores! I don't want this place to rub off!"  
  
"Quit being a baby, Katrin, for crying out loud! Nothing's going to happen to you!" Sighing, Robyn stepped back and then spotted White Blaze. "Hey! The big kitty's here!"  
  
Katrin's struggling ceased as she looked over at White Blaze, her eyes widening as she looked over him in awe.  
  
Cackling with glee, Robyn seized the moment to grabbed the fascinated girl and haul her ass out of the backseat. She slammed the door shut and locked it and then turned to go to work on the redhead.  
  
Lin had already, grudgingly extracted herself from the car and Robyn smiled. "Good to see you in such a good mood, my little friend." She slammed Lin's door and locked it like she had Katrin's.  
  
The Ronins, meanwhile, were staring with mild surprise at the two new faces.  
  
"See, nothing to worry about them," Robyn said as she skipped back to the trunk and opened it.  
  
The luggage was stored closer to her and she began pulling and tossing it onto the ground.  
  
"Hey! Be careful with that stuff!" Katrin cried, pissed at Robyn's disregard of her possessions. "That suitcase is pure Italian leather!"  
  
"Snob's showing!" Robyn called in a sing-songy voice as she pulled out the case the sword was stored in. Slamming the trunk closed, she placed the case on the lid and opened it.  
  
"Sage, this is yours, now get your ass over here." She moved over and lifted herself up onto the trunk of the car, a sunny smile lighting up her features as she patted the tissue paper inside the case.  
  
Slowly, as if he were afraid she might attack him, Sage moved forward and parted the layers of paper and silk. His visible and beautiful violet eyes widened as he revealed the blade of his sword to the dim light of the darkened day. An astonished cry tore from his lips as he gripped it tightly and lifted it from its packaged and swung it in a full arc into the air.  
  
"It's Sage's sword!" Rowen gasped out and Robyn slapped a hand over her mouth.  
  
"Oh my! Doctor Obvious of the Twinkie Brigade! You've just made a startling discovery!" She leaned forward as though eager. "Have you any more awesomely amazing deductions to share with us all, or have all your light bulbs burned out?"  
  
His dirty look succeeded in further brightening in her disposition- if that's truly possible- and she sat back with a smug and triumphant look on her face. Lin had moved around the car so she was leaning against it close to where Robyn was sitting.  
  
"I thought you liked these people, Birdie," Lin grumbled.  
  
"I do!" Robyn gritted her teeth at the mention of their nickname for her. She hated "Birdie."  
  
"Then why do you insist on annoying the hell out of them constantly!"  
  
Robyn turned on her point blank gray eyes onto the annoyed redhead. "Let's put it this way, honey. I like you and Katrin and I insist on annoying the hell out of the both of you! Why should I treat them any differently? Sense a pattern?" Her voice was full of mock innocence.  
  
Lin had nothing to say, but Katrin sure as boo did, but on a different subject.  
  
"Can we just go now?" she complained, rubbing her temples. "We've delivered the sword so we can go now, right?"  
  
Before Robyn could reply with one of her oh-so-awesomely witty remarks, Kayura stepped forward to drill them.  
  
"How did you come into possession of Halo's sword?" the midnight haired young woman asked and Robyn faced her. "And the girl said 'delivered.' Who charged you to deliver the sword?" Her hand was in a white-knuckled grip on the Ancient's staff, and she was obviously not in the mood for any more of Robyn's constant sense of humor.  
  
"Well, Miss Ancient's Heir Lady, Katrin and Lin pointed the sword out in a shop window, I begged to go in, we got the sword and *POOF!*, here we are!"  
  
"Long winded as she is, she summarizes," Katrin mumbled as she came around to stand next to Lin. "You ever notice how she makes everything else seem so exciting, but when she tells stories, they're always flops?"  
  
"Yup." Lin absent-mindedly drummed her fingers against the car.  
  
"And who charged you?" Kayura repeated.  
  
"I wouldn't say it was a 'who' really. More of a 'what.'" Robyn turned to Sage, she was running his hands along the blade to check and make sure it was still perfect. "Are you aware that your sword has a soul? In case you didn't know, it does. It asked me to bring the sword to you!"  
  
Robyn's cherubic demeanor seemed to be really getting on people's nerves, and the blonde, sensing the annoyance, decided to change... a little. Her gray eyes darkened in their seriousness and her brows drew together in a frown as she appeared to be pondering something.  
  
"Katrin, Lin, something just occurred to me."  
  
"What?" they asked in unison, in fear of what the answer would be.  
  
"It never really occurred to me that this place was real. The fact that in our world this place is little more than a kick-ass TV series never really hit me until this point. Hmmm." She turned herself bodily to her two friends. "Do you think something totally evil is going on?"  
  
As one- and they constantly seem to do things as one- the redhead and the brunette klunked their heads back against the car, expressions of utter grief crossing their features.  
  
"I never really though about that," the blonde continued, musing.  
  
"Under normal circumstances, Robyn 'not' thinking would have been funny," Katrin muttered.  
  
"But considering they're not normal, her thoughtlessness is neither funny nor hilarious," Lin followed up.  
  
"I wouldn't call it thoughtlessness," Robyn supplied for them. "I'd simply consider it as ignoring reality."  
  
"And you call this reality?" Lin snipped.  
  
"Enough already!" a feminine voice cried out and the three heads turned to see Mia stride forward.  
  
"Is it possible that the three of you could stop getting off the subject at hand and concentrate on our questions?" Folding her arms over her chest, Mia radiated calm and straight-forwardness.  
  
"It's possible, but hardly probable." When Mia looked like she was going to say something more, Robyn twisted her body so she was facing the Ronin group again and held up a hand for silence. "I only said hardly; I didn't said it was entirely improbable. I'll go for the little snippet of probability that exists." She folded her legs Indian-style, propped her elbows on her knees and propped her chin in her hands. "Go on."  
  
While Mia stepped aside to allow Kayura to continued with her polite form of drilling, Robyn reviewed all she had said and done, and winced mentally. She deduced that she had come off as a happy-go-lucky ditz with no real concept of reality and certainly a lack of any good sense, not to mention claiming more than a bit of a smart-ass attitude. Perfect. She focused on Kayura.  
  
"How much do you know about us?" the Ancient asked calmly.  
  
"Quite a bit, really," Robyn said, in a normal tone. "At least I do. Lin and Katrin couldn't care less. Like I said, your world is nothing more than a TV series in my world." Robyn had shed her cherubic skin and was acting a little more sensible. "The battles with Talpa and all those bad guys. Yeah." She shrugged her shoulders as if it were nothing really important.  
  
"And for some reason you have managed to come into possession of Sage's sword and have been transported to our world?" The hissing voice could belong to none other than the scaly Sekhmet, and it was laden with incredulity.  
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Would you like to contest my claims, Squeezy?" For some reason, though Robyn liked all the Ronins and Warlords, she just had to associate them with a ridiculous nickname. And Sekhmet's eyes had always reminded her of a bulbous squeak-toy her dog once chewed to death. In the case of Rowen, she thought he was quite brilliant, as all respectable Twinkies are.  
  
"After all, you did just see my car fly out of thin air to wreck your little picnic. Where else could I be from but another world?" She would have said more, but a particularly strong gust of wind (Yeah! Remember! It's all nice and stormy lookin' now!) blew by and threw some of her long blond locks into her mouth, which she proceeded to choke on.  
  
"Yick! Furball!" She spat her hair out and glanced at the sky. "Oooh! Pretty as the weather might be at the moment, and as much as I'd love to throw a wet t-shirt contest for y'all, I don't think this is honestly the place for discussion." A crack of thunder sounded to prove her point and lightning split the sky off in the distance.  
  
"Though I hate to admit it, she's right," Kale muttered, speaking out for the first time. It occurred to Robyn that few of them had spoken to her. My they were a silent lot face-to-face. "Maybe we should further this elsewhere."  
  
"Right." Mia strode back to their trashed picnic and began gathering stuff. "Let's pack up and we'll go to my place. Then we can talk."  
  
Letting out one of her triumphant little giggles, Robyn scooted from the trunk and opened it again so she could re-toss Lin and Katrin's luggage back into its now slightly roomier confines.  
  
Ryo, since he was the leader and all, followed the girls, tagging them with his ever so-suspicious tiger eyes. "I'm going with you to make sure you don't try anything."  
  
"No problem!" She unlocked all the doors and when she saw that her heroes were all ready to go, she clambered in and buckled up. Ryo was slow to fit himself inside; he had donned his civvies now, and he was quite on edge. His temper looked like it was about to snap, and Robyn figured it was probably her doing that got him on edge. She gave herself a mental pat on the back; like them, she did, but she couldn't resist pissing people off.  
  
As she started the car- she hadn't remembered shutting it off- a sudden loud screech went of in her ears and she winced as Lin and Katrin began clamoring to use their connection at the same time. They were still new to it, thought it had been several years, and they were quite loud in their thoughts. Her one-way telepathy was slowly becoming two-way, and this was the first time the two younger girls had ever initiated any sort of conversation outside of lessons, which is why she always considered it one- way.  
  
-*Robyn!*- Lin screeched loudly. -*You had sure as hell better know a way to get us out of here!*-  
  
-*Unfortunately, little sister, I don't. Sit back and relax. And turn the waves down. You'll make my zone echo later.*-  
  
-*It's all fine and dandy to you,*- Katrin raved, -*but we're not exactly wanting to be here!*-  
  
-*Come on, chiquitas! Where's your sense of adventure!*- Miffed, Robyn pulled behind Mia's red jeep, and a white van followed behind her. They drove along a dirt road for a while till they came to a paved road.  
  
-*If this was actually a show I liked, I'd probably be acting just like you,*- Lin growled. She was getting louder, and Robyn knew the three of them were going to get horrible headaches from their sudden use of their private airwaves.  
  
-*That's the problem. Why can't you guys accept things as they are?*-  
  
-*Why should we?*- Katrin asked snobbishly. -*Why should we always go along with everything you say? Just because you're the wise one who has to teach us everything? Why can't you accept the fact that we can't stand this anime... this place!*-  
  
That one hurt, and Robyn's eyes widened a bit, before cooling to a molten silver. -*And why should I put up with the criticism you throw at me for liking this show?*- she asked softly. -*Listen, guys, I know you don't like Ronin Warriors, and I know you want to go back. If it were in my power, I would send you back at your request, but I don't know how.*-  
  
There was a mental sigh, and she glanced in the rear-view mirror to see what her sisters looked like. They both looked petulant and pissed, an expression she didn't like seeing on them. When anything else but Ronin Warriors was concerned, they could be as sunny as she. Katrin would be smiling, and she wouldn't act like a snob. Lin would be scheming and plotting for their next escapade. Her friends were so out of character now, she was beginning to feel the effects.  
  
-*When I find out how, you can count on me to send you back. But until then, would you please just sit tight? You might find out it's not so bad after all.*- After that thought, she did something she'd never had to do before concerning her best friends.  
  
She put up a wall. The mason had been playing hooky and had come back after a guilt trip. She'd never had to use a wall because they'd never had an actual conversation with her, and this conversation was really wearing her thin.  
  
They drove on for a while, a heavy silence weighing over them and slowly gaining more pounds. Ryo's intense tiger-gaze was fraying Robyn's nerves, and it didn't help that Katrin looked like she wanted to pull a sledgehammer from her bag and Lin looked like she was about to throw a bad charm on her.  
  
So she kept her eyes plastered to the bumper ahead of her and tried to cool her thoughts.  
  
For once, the rightness of her bond with Lin and Katrin was beginning to feel not so right. She couldn't understand it. The first time they had met, the feeling promised forever friendships, and now it looked like it was about to turn into a regular friendship any normal person might experience in their life, one that faded with time. And her entrance into this world had fueled the sudden feeling. She wondered if this was a test. Maybe she had to go through a trial that would keep her sister-bond together.  
  
A brief, bitter smile crossed her lips as she contemplated this being a test. It was just like the sisters before her. Put to the test, only to fail, pathetically.  
  
She followed Mia's jeep in turning onto another dirt road, the driveway to Mia's mansion, she remembered  
  
This world felt so right to her, so how could it be anything less to Lin and Katrin? Of course, that had to be part of the test: acceptance. She accepted that they couldn't stand the Ronins, but she knew that their minds could eventually change. Their acceptance might just be slow in coming.  
  
In Mia's Vehicle...  
  
Sage was still holding onto his dear no-datchi, thought he had long since returned to his civvies. He couldn't put the sword down, he was so glad to have it back in his hands.  
  
He was puzzled though, by the way of its return. He was aware that his sword had a soul, much like his armor, but that it had spoken to someone other than him was what bewildered him.  
  
The sword wasn't a fake, he had known that the instant he felt the weight of it in his hand, felt the flash of light and warmth its presence sent through him. It was his no-datchi and none other. But why had it chosen this girl to return it to him?  
  
His grip on the hilt tightened as he closed his eyes and let in the soul of the sword.  
  
Centuries literally passed before his eyes, and not the time of his world, but of this Robyn character's. The sword fell into the hands of an old warrior, spoke to him, told him to seek the one to return the blade to its master. And so it went, from generation to generation through the warrior's family, until it came to the display window of his descendant's shop. And in walked Robyn and her crew and the sword's feeling flared brightly.  
  
He opened his eyes again just as they pulled up in front of Mia's mansion. Even without the knowing truth of Cye's judgment (Hey, he's the Ronin of Truth, ain't he?) or the power of Kayura's staff, he knew without a doubt that the girl was telling the truth. That he could trust her. Through his connection with his comrades, he relayed as much. It seemed as thought there was a sudden release of tension amongst his fellows, and as Sage and the others removed themselves from their vehicles, he could see the lack of tension in their visages.  
  
*Okay, okay, I will admit, that while I'm writing this, I have no real idea as to where I'm going. But, that's the joy of it! I'm going to love finding out where this will head! Dun dun dun! What did Robyn mean by the sisters before her? Oooh? Does she know more than she's telling us? And is her friendship with Lin and Katrin really what it was made out to be? Find out next time as we fly by the seats of our pants! See! My pantsesss have wings! MOOSE TURNIPS!  
  
Oh, and I will try to update as much as possible, but don't count on seeing something new every day or every week or every month. I write till I run dry, and sometimes it takes a while for the rains to come again. You've been forewarned of my sporadic writing skills.  
  
-Gray 


	3. It's a Katrin World, After All!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, are mine. Blah.  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
Chapter 3 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Katrin nervously drummed her fingers against her knees as the scrutinizing gazes of the Ronins passed over her, Robyn, and Lin. Being surrounded by so many guys was unnerving and a lot more than what she was used to.  
  
She wondered if they were planning on lynching them by the looks of their faces, but none of the people- she couldn't tell you their names if she tried- made a move to do any such thing. Regardless of their lack of action, Katrin was unable to relax as well as Robyn.  
  
Of course Robyn found this all as a dream come true, but Katrin found this a nightmare brought to life. Ever since she had seen the first episode of Ronin Warriors, at Robyn's urging, she had disliked it immensely. White Blaze aside, she hated everything about the show.  
  
The only problem she had with liking White Blaze was the possibility that she may come to like the rest of the people present. That was something she didn't want to happen; after all her complaints, she didn't want Robyn to be proven right, that she could change her mind. After all Katrin's protests about the show, the blond would just love having something to gloat about.  
  
However, Katrin didn't like being at odds with her older sister. It just didn't feel right to have the rift between them. And she didn't want Robyn to stop liking something she truly loved just because her friends asked her to; it wasn't right to ask that of a friend in most circumstances. She wondered if she should just grin and bear it; after all, that's really all Robyn had asked her to do. Robyn didn't expect her to like it. She had only asked that Katrin and Lin accept her liking the Ronins. Was that so unreasonable?  
  
A poke in her side sent her flying out of her seat.  
  
"Jiminy pot-stickers!" she screamed as she landed on the ground after rolling over the couch arm. She sat up and reddened, as the whole room seemed to be focused on her. She clutched her silk bag tight to her chest, tempted to use it, and as she looked up at Robyn, who was leaning over the couch arm and staring at her with her twinkling gray eyes, it was decided.  
  
"Sorry," Robyn said, not really meaning it either. "But you just looked so serious, I had to put an end to it!"  
  
Reaching into her bag, she envisioned something that was good for hitting things. Randomly she grabbed at the wire handle of something and extracted...  
  
...a flyswatter.  
  
Not what she'd really had in mind, but it would do and she threw up her arm quickly and smacked her offender across the face with the bright yellow swatter.  
  
Katrin knew it hadn't really hurt her, because the moment the plastic lifted from her face, Robyn burst out giggling and sat back to have a little chuckle fest.  
  
"Ya keep a flyswatta' in ya purse?" The Ronin nearest to her, the guy with the blue hair, as he eyed her with one eyebrow raised.  
  
"Yes, for annoying pests like her!" she said sharply, glaring at the blonde who seemed to find everything in life amusing. "And it's not a purse!" She remained on the floor to huff as her sister continued to giggle.  
  
"Looks like a purse ta me," the blue one said, folding his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair.  
  
"Well it's not."  
  
"It's a bag, your a chick, and chicks carry bags called purses," he continued as if she hadn't said a word. His accent was really starting to bug her.  
  
"Do you want me to show you what else I carry in here?" she threatened, her eyes darkening as she reached in it.  
  
"Na. I don't need to see inside ya purse ta know that it's full of chick stuff."  
  
"Would you stop calling me a chick! And it's not a purse! It's called a tote!" She closed her fingers around a rock. "And I'll have you know it's not full of chick stuff." Katrin changed her mind and turned the rock into a rubber ball. She pulled her arm back with the ball and threw it, hard. It smacked him right between the eyes and his jaw dropped in surprise. Meanwhile, Robyn's giggles had quieted to soft snickers as she watched the goings on.  
  
The blue haired dude stood up and glared down at her, Katrin glared up at him, and all was merry.  
  
"Why don't we just get things over with now and send these -chicks- back to the Dynasty!" he growled as he shot invisible arrows at Katrin's head.  
  
"What the hell is the Dynasty!" she shot back. "And stop calling me a chick you overgrown blueberry-filled Twinkie!"  
  
"Shut up! Both of you!" the black-haired guy yelled, and both Katrin and her adversary shushed. "Rowen, cool it. We already concluded they weren't from the Dynasty!" Ryo's tiger-eyes turned on Katrin. "And you're not helping matters, so just do us a favor and keep quiet."  
  
Katrin pursed her lips in her anger and reached into the bag again, but Robyn reached over the chair arm and grabbed her wrist. Looking up, Katrin caught the warning in her older sister's eyes and removed the hand that had been ready to pull out another projectile from her silk "tote."  
  
At least she now knew Twinkie boy's real name. The only other guy whose name she was sure about was the blonde, Sage, and she knew that because Robyn had given him the sword after raving about it looking like Sage's sword. Miffed, she decided not to bother prying herself from the floor and scooted so she was sitting in front of it; this also gave her a clear shot if she wanted to smash Robyn's foot with something from her bag.  
  
Robyn's warning had been loud and clear. It said, "We are not to give ourselves away and if they find out about our power, they may label us as an enemy." The two objects she had conjured from her bag were innocent enough, but if she continued to pull out random things that technically shouldn't fit in there, the guys would get suspicious.  
  
She looked around at the group, wondering what their names were; she figured if she was going to be there for any length of time, she may as well know their names so she could yell at them properly. There were eight guys, two young women, and a little boy. The girls and the little boy she would have no problem remembering, but the guys were another thing. They were all very different, but the sheer number of names was what daunted her.  
  
"So..." Robyn said from above her. "Would you like to drill us now, later, or never?" Picking at her finger nails, Katrin prayed for never.  
  
It seemed as though they were going to answer her prayer, since none of them looked like they were bursting with questions, but then Sage opened his mouth and shot it all to hell.  
  
"Why were the three of you sent here, aside from the obvious. But why you?"  
  
Robyn was popping her knuckles as she pondered a bit over the question. "T'tell ya the truth, I don't rightly know. I dunno, fate perhaps?"  
  
There was nothing "perhaps" about it, Katrin thought, especially where Robyn's thoughts were concerned. Katrin's older sister was set in her beliefs that there were no accidents in life.  
  
"I hadn't even known it would be this world we were entering," she said as she leaned back into the cushions of the couch.  
  
"Then how is it you knew to give it to Halo?" the lady with the weird staff asked.  
  
"Well, when I first saw the sword, I thought it looked like his sword, but I didn't know until we got here and saw you guys that it actually was his, without a doubt."  
  
Katrin wrapped her fingers around a small pendant that had previously been hidden under her shirt. Robyn and Lin both had one just like it, and rubbing it between her fingers gave her a sense of comfort.  
  
"Do any of you know of a warrior who calls himself Kaiden?" the lady asked.  
  
Katrin glanced up at Robyn to see if she knew, and Robyn looked to Lin to see if she knew, and since none of them knew, they all answered together.  
  
"No."  
  
"He is the one who banished Sage's sword to your world," the other young woman said. She was perched on the arm of a chair next to the hot-tempered black haired dude and scratching White Blaze behind the ear.  
  
"At the moment, our main goal is to find out why," Staff-Lady said.  
  
Katrin felt something niggling at the back of her mind, and knew that Robyn was thinking and thinking hard. She had a wall up, but the older girl could still portray some of the feelings that went with her thoughts through said wall.  
  
She wondered if Robyn had some sort of clue as to what was happening to the people before them and wasn't telling.  
  
"And you think that we have something to do with why he sent whaz-his- face's sword to our world?" Lin asked, and it was then that Katrin realized how quiet her other sister was being.  
  
"Quite frankly, yes." Staff-Lady was seated on the loveseat next to the smooth-voice white haired guy who had a patch over one eye. "There has to be a reason that he would send the sword there and three seemingly powerless girls would be brought back with it."  
  
Powerless. Hell no! Katrin grumbled inwardly.  
  
"The thing I want to know," Lin started, "is how the hell a cartoon turned up real. It's scary as hell."  
  
"Well, if you think about it, Lin, it's not all that impossible," Robyn stated. "Considering the sword was sent to Japan centuries before our time, and the sword spoke to the men of that family. Think about it. Japanese. What do we like that's Japanese?"  
  
"Anime."  
  
"Bingo!" Robyn's point made itself known to Katrin.  
  
"So maybe the people in that family were the same people that created the TV show," Katrin said, it all dawning on her, making more sense.  
  
"And the fact that it got down to every last nitty-gritty detail is the cool part," Robyn continued. "Everything here is the series reincarnated." She shot a look to Sage. "I don't mean to sound like I support evilness or anything, but hellfire if that Kaiden dude hadn't sent Sage's sword to our world, we wouldn't have had the viewing pleasure of the ever-so-kick-ass series of the Ronin Warriors! And that's just not right! It's practically sacrilege!"  
  
Robyn obviously had no qualms about making clear the fact that she had a case of hero-worship for the group of people before us, and Katrin rolled her eyes.  
  
"And you have to admit, Sage. Your sword's very thorough. It paid a lot of attention to details!"  
  
"If only it hadn't," Lin grumbled, and Katrin smiled a bit at this.  
  
"Quite rainin' on my parade! Let me worship!" Wailing, Robyn drug Lin's head over to her lap and proceeded to nuggie her to death.  
  
"This is insane," one guy said and Katrin's ears perked up a little at this. His voice was nice, with a soft British- or was it Australian?- accent. He had light brown hair and nice blue eyes.  
  
"Tell me about it. You don't live with this." Lin and Robyn had each other in a choke hold and both were turning blue. Immediately she wished she hadn't said anything, because the guy turned his eyes on her and smiled. She ducked her head a bit in her own timid fashion. She supposed it wouldn't hurt to get to know the guys in any way, but the fact that they were guys made it a bit weird. She was uncomfortable around the opposite sex, due to her minimal association with it. She'd gone to an all-girl school (AN: I'm not saying that girls going to all-girl schools don't know how to act around guys. Just Katrin.) and she didn't have the slightest idea how she was supposed to act around them. She could argue with them, but getting along with them was something she had little experience with.  
  
"Well," the normal lady began, "Since it seems that we won't be getting anywhere with this, we might as well start dinner. And since it's obvious you girls have nowhere else to go, you might as well stay here. Not like I don't have the room." Katrin liked her. She was a nice lady, if a little bit fashion-challenged. "Whose turn is it to cook?"  
  
Robyn and Lin had stopped wrestling and were sitting farther apart from each other now, and they and Katrin watched as all eyes turned towards Rowen.  
  
"Looks like it's Pizza night," Sage concluded.  
  
"No, actually I was thinking of trying out a new recipe I found in-"  
  
"NO!" they shouted, and the three girls jumped. Robyn giggled.  
  
"I'll cook," the Brit offered. "We have guests and it would only be polite to offer something more than pizza."  
  
An audible sigh of relief went through the room like a wave. Katrin figured that Rowen was a disaster in the kitchen by the way the people had acted to him saying he wanted to cook. She also figured the Brit had to be a good cook.  
  
"Thanks Cye," the nice lady said. Cye. That was a nice name, Katrin thought.  
  
Cye and the nice lady left the room and everybody else just kind of stayed where they were, shifting under the uncomfortable silence.  
  
Katrin figured this was as good a time as any to find out their names, so she spoke up quietly.  
  
"So.. uh.. what are your names?" she asked as she fiddled with a shoelace. She didn't like uncomfortable silences.  
  
"Surprised you don't know," the big guy with the bluish-black hair said.  
  
"Well I don't. I'm not obsessed with you guys like Robyn is."  
  
"Neither am I," Lin said. "Since we're here, we might as well know."  
  
"Well I'm Kentoe," the big guy provided. After he said this a loud rumble could be heard, and at first Katrin thought it was White Blaze, but Kentoe grinned. "I'm also hungry."  
  
"Constantly," said the little boy. This was the first he had said anything. He was sitting on Kentoe's knee and waved at the girls. "I'm Yulie." He had dark brown hair and had a bit of an annoying voice, but he was a cute kid nonetheless.  
  
It moved on from them in a circle going first to the couch where Sage was sitting. He just said his name.  
  
"My name is Cale," said the guy with a scar under his eye. He was a very dark looking person. The guy next to him gave Katrin the chills.  
  
"I'm Sekhmet." His voice made it worse. He sounded like a snake; heck, his whole person reminded her of a snake, a creature she was terrified of.  
  
"I am Dais," said the dude with the patch on his eye, leaning back with one arm on the back of the loveseat.  
  
Staff-Lady was next. Her name was Kayura.  
  
They skipped over Cye's vacant spot and Rowen just kind of muttered his name.  
  
"I'm Ryo," said the black-haired dude, as his turn circled around, finally. "And the girl that walked into the kitchen with Cye was Mia." Mia. That was a faintly normal name. Katrin could live with that. She still figured she would have trouble with their names for a little while; it was a lot to remember.  
  
Again with the heavy silences. Katrin drummed her fingers against her knees as the silence hummed on, and she swore she heard elevator music coming from somewhere. Scratch that. It was the Jeopardy tune she was hearing.  
  
"Sooooooo...." Robyn drawled out. "Should we draw a topic out of a hat or continue on with silence?" When nobody answered, Robyn settled back on the couch again and propped her hands behind her head. It seemed the blonde had calmed a bit and was content just to be near her heroes. Either that or she was about to...  
  
Yep. She was "zoning." Katrin say that her friend's eyes were glazed over just a bit as she stared off out into space.  
  
Feeling that she should take advantage of her opportunity, she leaned forward and signaled to Lin, who agreed whole-heartedly. They both reached for one of the throw pillows on the couch.  
  
If the Ronins knew what the two girls were about to do- which they probably did- they weren't about to stop them as Katrin stood and the two swung the pillows with all their might at Robyn's face.  
  
A squeal tore from her lips and she dove from the couch. She tucked and rolled to the other side of the room before coming up on her feet in a crouch.  
  
"Ye shall not strike oil! My wells are dry! I didn't do it! Do not drillllll..... Oh..." For the first time that day, Robyn seemed embarrassed, as her cheeks were reddening. Lin and Katrin grinned triumphantly.  
  
"Yulie, close your ears. Now, please." After the boy had covered his ears with his hands, although he grumbled about it, Robyn took a deep breath.  
  
"ASS-GOBLINS! You butt munching, hicker-billy sons o' Dick-Scum Toe-Daddy Bleepity-bleepin' BLEEPS! " she yelled. She looked around and saw that everybody was either trying to cover a laugh or chuckling in a strained manner. "Glad to be of entertainment," she grumbled as she plopped down on the floor in a pout.  
  
Lin and Katrin sat down on the couch and tossed the pillows back into their corners.  
  
"Jeeze, Birdie. You should see your face!" Katrin giggled. She couldn't help it. Poking fun at Robyn was just so much... fun!  
  
"Don't call me that, Kitty!" Katrin's smile turned into a frown. She hated being called Kitty!  
  
Lin was snickering at both of them, the sound reminding one of a slinky rodent, and Robyn turned on her next. "Shush, Weasel!"  
  
That stopped Lin in her verbal tracks and she stopped laughing. "Ooooh... You'll pay, Pigeon!"  
  
Something that sounded faintly like a squawk sounded from Robyn's lips, and it was so indignant in its tone, nobody could control their laughter a wave sounded through the room as the three continued to pick their little fight. Kentoe was guffawing loudly in his chair, accidentally knocking Yulie off his knee. Kayura was only smiling, while Dais was trying to control his laughter through his hand. Sage was like Kayura, only smiling, but something akin to a twinkle lit up his eye, while the rest of them had no qualms about laughing at the three girls.  
  
Katrin really wanted to reach into her bag and drag out a heavy bashing object, but she hadn't realized how much time had passed, because Mia suddenly came into the room to announce dinner. She glanced around at the mirthful people before rolling her eyes and making the announcement.  
  
"Dinner's re-" the words weren't even completely out of her mouth before Kentoe had barreled past her. A shout was heard, followed by some scuffling before Kentoe was tossed back into the room on his ass. Cye stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, with a spatula sticking out of his hand. It was an amusing pose, and Katrin snickered a bit.  
  
"Awww, but Cye!" Kentoe whined, and the Brit just glared.  
  
"Kentoe, not until everybody is seated! I've told you a hundred times before!"  
  
"I can't help it!" the muscular warrior moaned. "I'm just so hungry!"  
  
"You're always hungry!" everybody but Katrin and Lin shouted at him, and after those words were spoken- or rather, yelled- they rose and began moving towards the dining room.  
  
Not sure what to do, Katrin, Robyn and Lin just stayed where they were. Katrin was sure Robyn was dying to follow them, but she knew her sense of loyalty was keeping her at her sisters' sides.  
  
Cye looked over from his perch at the door and smiled at them. "Come on then. Nobody's going to bite ye'." Katrin shifted a bit and waited for Robyn or Lin to make a move.  
  
Surprisingly, it was Lin who moved first, standing from the couch and taking the nervous first step. Robyn removed herself from her spot on the floor and skipped after her. Slowly, Katrin stood and walked to the door to the dining room. She had to move past Cye, and when she did, she happened to glance up.  
  
He flashed her a sunny smile and she looked down abruptly. She jumped a little when he put a hand on the small of her back and guided her into the room, and innocent and gentlemanly gesture, really. But it was a gesture Katrin was not used to and she scooted forward to avoid the contact. If he noticed, Cye didn't comment, because he moved past her to take his seat. There were steaming platters of food on the table, simple dishes, and they smelled heavenly. Katrin's stomach grumbled as she timidly took a seat between Robyn and Kentoe. Kentoe looked like he was about to eat his own leg off if he didn't get any food, and she had to admit that she could do the same.  
  
She hadn't had anything to eat since a really early breakfast that morning before she and Lin left to go meet Robyn at Sutter Creek. They had planned to shop and eat there, but for some reason food had slipped their minds. Her stomach growled again, and Kentoe looked down at her.  
  
"Hungry?" he asked with a huge grin.  
  
"Yeah, a little," she muttered, not meeting his gaze. A little after that was said, everybody dug in, not sure of what to do, Katrin sat there somewhat numbly and stared. Then something, rice, was sloshed down on her plate by way of Kentoe's hand, holding the serving spoon.  
  
"Don't be shy around here!" he said as he began piling stuff onto her plate, more than what tiny her could eat. She squeaked and her eyes widened. Even Robyn and Lin were digging in, if somewhat slowly, and all she could do was stare.  
  
"You're pretty skinny. You could-" Kentoe didn't finish his sentence as Katrin instinctively threw out her arm, clutching her silk bag, and whapped him in the back of the head.  
  
"Don't call me 'skinny'!" she yelled. All motion stopped, and realizing what she had done, she immediately colored and looked down. "Sorry."  
  
"Aw, it's no problem really. Didn't know you were touchy; my bad." She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see him smiling in a friendly manner and she looked down again. In the living room, things hadn't been so bad, but in the dining room, she'd gone back to square one of her Shy- Board. It made it worse when her stomach growled again, this time sounding like thunder muffled by cotton.  
  
"Hee-hee!" Robyn grinned. "Kitty, you're purring!"  
  
Slowly, Katrin looked up at her older sister, her brown eyes turning black as a tight look encompassed her face. Robyn, knowing what she did wrong, humbled her features in a not-so-humble way and presented her head.  
  
*WHAP!* Katrin smacked Robyn, hard.  
  
And thus went their dinner.  
  
-*Lin, are you okay?*- Robyn asked, finally throwing down her wall. She figured it was safe, since her friends didn't seem to be in as pissy moods as before. She was worried about Lin. Her prank earlier had been refreshing, but now she was sunk back into silent mode. Robyn felt Katrin was slowly growing used to things, but Lin was crawling at a snail's pace, aside from eating.  
  
-*I'm fine,*- the redhead said as she chewed slowly on a small piece of chicken.  
  
-*No you're not. Please talk.*-  
  
-*I'm just not comfortable here,*- Lin replied.  
  
-*I know, but that's never stopped you from opening up before. Come on. Please?*-  
  
-*No! Okay! I said no!*- Stubbornly, Lin clenched her jaw. -*Maybe later, but not now. Okay?*-  
  
Sighing mentally, Robyn conceded. -*Okay. But don't take too long.*-  
  
-*Whatever.*-  
  
*So what did you think? I decided to make this a Katrin chapter, so I hope you enjoyed it as a refreshing sort of change. Or something like that.  
  
Slowly I'm developing ideas for future chapters, but I don't want to develop them much too quickly, or I'll run dry, and nobody wants that to happen. I'm hoping that I can keep writing this for a really long time. I love many-chaptered stories, but then those are kind of annoying because they can drag on and on and on and on and on just like I'm dragging on and on and on and on and on, but hey, oh well.  
  
Questions? Comments? Review down below please! Pretty please? I'll give you a hug!  
  
-Gray 


	4. Lin's World, Buff Guys, & Angels?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, are mine. Blah.  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
Chapter 4 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Lin surveyed the room around her with little more than absolute dislike. It wasn't that the room was bad or anything; it was quite tastefully done, but she just didn't like the house it was set in. She didn't like the world it was set in for that matter.  
  
-Dumb Ronins,- she thought. -Why does it have to be this place?-  
  
She was sitting up in bed and fiddling with the end of the braid she had pulled her wavy red hair into. Katrin was asleep on the other side of the full-sized bed, lucky her. Robyn was curled up on the floor with just a comforter wrapped around her and a single large pillow under her head; Lin swore that girl could sleep anywhere. Of course, Robyn had also zoned before she fell asleep, so that made things easier for her. Lin had slept for a while, then woke up abruptly and couldn't get back to sleep.  
  
After dinner earlier, the boys had volunteered to go get their stuff, since they were probably staying for a while. That had gone off okay until they got to Robyn's car.  
  
Robyn had failed to mention how they were supposed to open the trunk. Nobody would have noticed there was anything wrong with the lid by the way she opened it earlier that day, but that was only because Robyn was used to it. No, if a stranger opened the trunk, they would doubtless loose a tooth or break a nose.  
  
Her trunk was tricky. You had to push down after you turned the key and never let your hand off it as you raised it. Silly little Robyn. Causing so much mayhem.  
  
Sage had been the unfortunate soul to receive the face full of metal as the trunk whooshed open and slammed into his face. It broke his nose and he had stumbled into the house holding the bleeding and pained piece of skin- covered cartilage. Lin, unable to help herself, had laughed.  
  
His cold violet stare had not done one thing to stop her jovial mood. She just smirked at him, glad to see one of the Ronins, and the one who was the reason they were there no less, was feeling some pain. Little prankster that she was, Lin could not resist causing people she refused to like to suffer. Even if she hadn't been the one to deal the blow, it was still a great day in hell for her.  
  
She looked over at the far corner of the room, next to the chest of drawers, where their luggage was piled.. With one flick of her hand, Robyn could have saved the boys the trouble of dragging the luggage all the way up the huge flight of stairs, but the blonde had silently insisted that they keep their powers a secret. Not that they had ever shown them to anyone else, but she was being especially strict about them right now.  
  
She moved her gaze to her little sister, who had shifted. This had been the only room in the huge mansion that wasn't taken or used for storage, so all three of them had to cram inside it. Both Lin and Katrin were pretty slender so they fit well on the bed, but Robyn had immediately opted for the floor. She said it was because she shifted a lot and didn't want to kick anybody off the bed by accident, but Lin knew it was for different reasons.  
  
Robyn was looking out for them, and much as Lin was grateful for this, it annoyed her too. She didn't want to be looked after. She was stubborn and independent, and even though her older sister never went out and said it, Robyn had appointed herself "little teacher, guide, mentor, guardian, etc., etc." Mostly because she was older and she was the one who was teaching them to develop their powers.  
  
It aggravated Lin. Robyn was taking things slowly with them, and Lin itched for more. She was a bit jealous that Robyn could do everything she and Katrin could to without even trying, but it was the fact that Robyn didn't use those certain powers that curbed the jealousy. It didn't make it any easier that Lin was only mostly good with potions and charms, while Katrin could do something as cool as conjuring things. She wanted more, and Robyn was so slow with her lessons to them.  
  
She wanted to be able to control the elements, levitate objects, disappear at will, fly, morph into other creatures! All the things her "teacher" could do and she couldn't. She was getting handy at telepathy, but she almost never used that; what good would that do her? Secret conversations, big whoop. And she was sure Robyn could do so much more than she was letting on.  
  
Four years was a long time to find out about someone you were close to, but Lin knew she was only touching the tip of the iceberg when it came to knowing of Robyn's full scale of powers. And she knew the rest of the ice under the water was hiding much more than just potential magic; there was a past hidden in their somewhere.  
  
Lin knew Robyn had been adopted by her current family when she was around thirteen. Before then she had been raised by her mother. That was all Lin really knew, besides that Robyn's mother had taught her much of what she knew. Anything else was off-limits. Robyn never talked about her mother, no matter what.  
  
Lin was eager to tap into her sister's past as she was to get into her own power well. But she knew that until Robyn deemed it time, she was going to have to sit tight and relax.  
  
Grumbling, Lin got out of bed and walked over to the dresser to her small travel pack of potions, contemplating taking something to help her sleep. But then she finally glanced out the window and saw the faint light of dawn past the trees of the forest that surrounded the house. Deciding against the potion, she opened up one of her suitcases and pulled out a pair of jeans, a gray tank-top, and some clean under garments. Mia had told her that there were towels in the bathroom if she wanted to take a shower or a bath, so she was going to do just that. Taking out her travel toiletries bag, she slipped out of the bedroom and padded down to the bathroom in her long t-shirt and plaid pajama pants.  
  
Lin knew she was being abusive of the hospitality of Mia and the others, but she couldn't help her absolute dislike for the show. It was different now that she was a part of said show, but she couldn't stop her reluctance to find some sort of common ground with them, if only for a little while.  
  
She knew that Katrin was probably going to find such a common ground, but Lin was just a little more stubborn.  
  
She didn't hear anyone in the bathroom and she grabbed onto the handle and twisted. It whooshed inward quite easily and she was about to enter when she finally looked inside.  
  
Inside, fully buff save for a towel covering essential parts, was Sage in all his blonde Adonis glory. He had a toothbrush in his mouth and a bit of toothpaste was covering his lips. He had paused in mid stroke of the brush and was staring at her with his visible eye going wide.  
  
My he was a tasty looking warrior. Hell, all of them were, except Sekhmet; he gave her the creeps. But she hadn't seen all of them nearly nude, showing off wonderfully sculpted pecs, broad shoulders, and a washboard stomach she'd love to do her laundry on any day. Damn, even his toes were sexy! Realizing the track her train of thoughts had taken, she hit the brakes and derailed the sucker.  
  
Without saying a word Lin turned around and softly closed the door behind her.  
  
As she tread back down the hall to her room, Lin reprimanded herself. It wouldn't do her any good to suddenly develop a case of the hots for any of the guys in this world; it would go against everything she had sworn not to do while she was here, and it was also illogical. She lived in another world for crying out loud! Long distance relationships were one thing, but that was too long.  
  
She snuck back into her room and wondered if she could whip up a charm to make them all ugly. At least Sage. She thought he was the cutest of them all, so logically she would want to avoid him at all costs. And in Robyn's little run-downs of all their personalities, she had claimed Sage to be a pimpin' flirt.  
  
"Well, maybe not 'pimping' but damn near close to it," she had said.  
  
She decided she'd go to work on that immediately. She didn't like him anyway, so it would be good for a prank. She loooooooved pranks.  
  
Lin heard him vacate the bathroom and quickly slipped back to it so she could get in a shower. A half an hour later she was in much the same position as he had been when she had walked in on him, only she had the door locked and she was dressed. She brushed her teeth languidly as she scanned the contents of the bathroom.  
  
There were five labeled baskets that had names on them. One was Kentoe's, another Rowen's, then Sekhmet's, and Cye's, and Sage's. They all held personal toiletries of each of those guys, so she figured this bathroom was mostly used just by those five guys. Her eyes zeroed in on Sage's and she paused in her brushing as she smirked.  
  
There at the front was the ultra strong hair-gel Sage used for his blonde helmet that didn't seem to move. Her smirked widened into a grin and she spit and rinsed so she could get on with her suddenly evolving plan. Chuckling softly she pulled a bottle from her toiletries bag.  
  
The gel bottle was exactly the same shape and size as the bottle of Vaseline she carried around for her little pranks. She snickered as she thought of the butter knives she had dipped in the gooey stuff and stuck into her least favorite teacher's yard. The Vaseline had prevented the old crone from pulling the knives out and the stream of obscenities that followed would have wilted a tree.  
  
Her only problem was that the bottles were different colors. This was going to be tricky. The Vaseline bottle was dark blue and Sage's gel bottle was black. She supposed she could try simply switching the colors, but she wasn't very skilled in morphing things yet.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Lin decided to chance it and she waved her hands over the two objects and willed them to change into one another. She closed her eyes as she did this, not sure if it would work or not.  
  
When she opened her eyes, she had to smother a squeal of delight. The two bottles had indeed switched colors- to make sure, she squeezed the green bottle and out oozed Vaseline.  
  
"Hehehe! Eat this, Sage," she muttered evilly as she placed the now green bottle of Vaseline in Sage's basket. He wouldn't use it until tomorrow morning, but the wait would be worth it in the long run.  
  
Happy that she was about to do something evil, Lin left the bathroom and padded cheerily to her room to deposit her bag, and then nearly bounced down to the kitchen.  
  
Her current victim was sitting at the dining room table, dipping coffee and reading a paper. He looked so calm and serious, and that bugged her. She wanted to ruffle his feathers quite badly just to see what he would look like if he was pissed off. And he would be, she knew. According to Robyn, this guy treated his hair as though it were a newborn baby, with tender care and affection and the skill of an artist.  
  
She spotted the coffee maker and salivated; it smelled really, really good and she needed a burst of caffeine.  
  
"Where are the coffee cups?" she asked by way of greeting, not bothering to bring up their brief meeting earlier that morning.  
  
"Third cupboard, to your left," he said smoothly, and Lin could feel his eyes on her back as she reached into the cabinet to grab a cup and again as she was pouring her get-goer.  
  
"Thanks," she said as she claimed a chair a few down from him and proceeded to spy on him through her long hair, which had fallen over the side of her face closest to him.  
  
That morning, Sage hadn't expected anybody to walk in on him in the bathroom. He was the earliest riser in the whole Koji mansion, and usually had no fear of anyone walking in on him while he was in the buff. He had expected something like that from one of the three new girls least of all.  
  
The Lin girl sitting a few chairs down from him had surprised him by suddenly opening the door on him. He had been lucky too, or he would have given her an eyeful. A moment more and he would have succeeded in unknotting his towel and letting it drop to the floor. He made a note to lock the door next time, if Lin was an early riser.  
  
She had given him the elevator eyes in the few seconds she had stood there in surprise, but other than that he hadn't read much in the clear blue depths. She was good at keeping in her emotions, he noticed. He sensed it was a bit forced though. He hadn't seen one bit of interest in her eyes as she surveyed him, just calm acceptance of the fact that he was nearly in the buff before her.  
  
Now that he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a green tank top, she seemed even less interested in him, if that were even possible. She was concentrating on her coffee, and when she spoke it was with cool detachment.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"Almost Six," he answered. He wanted to get a glimpse of her eyes, but it was nearly impossible through the man of red hair that separated them. He wanted to see what she was thinking if possible.  
  
"Hmm." She made the noise as she sipped her coffee, and Sage felt like he had been dismissed. He decided to change tactics and flirt with her, if it would knock her a bit off guard.  
  
"You have pretty hair," he said softly. The line was simple enough, but he was vain enough to know that it had knocked the socks off plenty of girls.  
  
"Thanks." She didn't seem to care about his compliment and it aggravated him.  
  
"You should pull it back sometime," he urged gently. "Stop hiding those crystal eyes of yours."  
  
"Hmmm." Again, Lin seemed impervious to his charm, and Sage tried not to clench his fist around the section of newspaper he held. And just as he was about to say some more, she stood from the table and took her coffee out onto the deck that was just outside the kitchen. She slid the door open and closed, effectively locking him out as though he didn't exist.  
  
Muttering something about stubborn women, Sage got up and refilled his cup of coffee.  
  
Lin stood out on the deck for a long time, letting the cool morning air wash over her. As far as she could tell, it was just turning summer here, but it was still a bit nippy out with the last dregs of spring washing away. She shivered a bit; right now was the temperature that Robyn would enjoy while Lin preferred it much warmer. Katrin liked it warm too, but Robyn was their resident bury-herself-naked-in-the-snow Winter lover.  
  
She sipped her coffee- she was almost out- and watched as the sun rose. She set her cup down and without a thought of self-consciousness, lifted her arms into the air to welcome the day with her embrace. As the warm rays encased her, she ignored the feeling of eyes watching her from inside the kitchen.  
  
She knew Sage had been pissed that his attempts to flirt with her had been met with a wall. Lin couldn't help that she had been royally crowned the Ice Queen a long time ago and wasn't afraid to admit that she was impervious to boys' charms. It wasn't a big secret that she deflected any and all attempts by boys to go with her, and she certainly wasn't going to drop any of her walls for a Ronin.  
  
Her stomach growled and she looked down at it, the sound having broken her reverie, and she smiled. She was an early riser out of habit from early- morning anime shows, and her stomach wanted sustenance!  
  
Admitting that she owed the Ronins for putting up with her, and also just wanting to get some food, she walked back into the kitchen and refilled her coffee.  
  
"Who usually cooks breakfast?" she asked as she surveyed the room.  
  
"Cye does," he answered, and as if on cue, the water Ronin walked in. He looked ready to do battle in the kitchen by the look of sheer will he had plastered on his face. He stopped when he saw Lin standing there, surprised.  
  
"Morning," she said. She glanced at the cupboards. "Do you mind if I help you this morning? It's the least I can do." She figured if she didn't have to like the guys, she also didn't need them as her enemy.  
  
Cye seemed more than happy to let her help; he was quite a good-natured fellow and knew his way in the kitchen as well as the back of his hand. For the next hour or so, he ordered Lin about the kitchen, getting this or that, mixing that or this, throwing that away, and putting this in the batter. She found the work stimulating and just what she needed, her meditation of sorts. She liked having a task at hand and doing it.  
  
Sage had vacated a long time ago, and as Cye flipped perfect pancakes on the griddle, he struck up a little conversation. Lin didn't say much to him; hey, just because she was helping him didn't mean she had to talk with him.  
  
"So what's Katrin like, besides shy?" he asked, and Lin's protective hackles instantly rose.  
  
"Why don't you ask her and find out?" -Or better yet, forget about the question entirely,- she thought as she sipped another cup of coffee.  
  
As she asked that, a blush rose in his cheeks, and her hackles lowered. Well hot-diggity-dog, he was a shy one, just as shy as Katrin maybe. Then her hackles rose again at the thought of him pursuing her little sister. It would do neither of them any good to get into a relationship; they lived worlds apart, and that was just setting them up for a terrible fall.  
  
What was she talking about? She didn't know the first thing about relationships, and she doubted Katrin was interested in the Brit beside her. No, Katrin probably wouldn't get into anything with Cye, so Lin figured she had little to worry about.  
  
Cye never did answer the question, and a few minutes later he lost his chance at any more private questions, because Kentoe rushed into the room. Having predicted this, Cye barely skipped a beat in holding up a huge plate of pancakes and flipping over the ones on the griddle at the same time. It was quite amusing to see the big muscular dude grab up the plate, plop down at the table, and begin packing the pancakes away. A few minutes later and the whole table was filled with merry-making breakfast goers, and only two people were missing.  
  
Rowen was gone, and they told Lin it was no surprise since Rowen was never an early-riser.  
  
"That guy would sleep through another attack from the Dynasty if we let him," Ryo groused from the head of the table where he was seated next to Mia. Lin didn't know why, but those two looked like they would make a cute couple, but it looked as though they were fighting becoming just that.  
  
The other missing person was none other than Robyn. It surprised Lin that the Ronin-Crazed girl was missing her second meal with her confirmed heroes, but then again, it was Robyn, and she could be unpredictable at her best.  
  
"She was still on the floor when I came down," Katrin said from beside her. Lin looked over and saw that the tiger-loving brunette was affectionately petting White Blaze, who was enjoying the attention immensely. His blue eyes were closed and his huge tail was swinging slowly from side to side in his pleasure.  
  
"On the floor?" Mia glanced up at this and her pretty blue eyes looked worried.  
  
"Yeah," Katrin looked up finally. "She insisted on sleeping there."  
  
"Oh my," Mia said. "She's probably going to be sore this morning."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Lin replied. "Birdie can sleep anywhere without a problem."  
  
"It's true," Katrin confirmed.  
  
"But on a floor?" Mia tsked. "I'm going to get those other rooms cleaned out today if it kills me. We can't have any of you sleeping on the floor."  
  
"Take our word for it," Lin insisted. "She sleeps in trees, on rocks, standing up, sitting down. The girl just turns herself into a zombie and that's all she wrote." She was surprising herself by being so open, but she found the mannerisms of her hosts to be contagious. She supposed it wouldn't hurt too much to be civil. They heard a thump and a yelp from upstairs and everyone was silent.  
  
"Wall," they heard the faint grumble. "When was there a wall there?"  
  
"She doesn't know where she is," Katrin said.  
  
Another thump followed by the sound of something falling and being caught by unsteady hands came up next.  
  
"Where'd that bloody vase come from?" they heard her grouse. A yawn came next and the end of it sounded like a little kitten squeaking.  
  
"Coffee... need cooooofffffeeeeeeee...." another kittenish yawn. "Where'd that darn bathroom gooooooooo-ooooohhhHH! HOLY ARABIC MONKEYS!" A loud crash was heard, followed by an assorted mix of interesting sounds as Robyn's half-awake form tumbled down the stairs, rolled past the kitchen door, and hit the wall parallel to the foot of the stairs.  
  
As everybody jumped to see that she was okay, she appeared in the doorway, swaying and groping for balance. When she attained it, she straightened and pointed at the stairs.  
  
"Y'know... there's a staircase there?" Lin and Katrin had spent time getting dressed that morning, but it seemed that the rest of the household, aside from them, Sage, and Cye, were just too lazy to care, Robyn included. Her hair was braided into a pair of cute pigtails that hung behind her ears and they were frizzy from their contact with the floor. She had on a pair of green Lucky Charms pajama pants and a hideous green shirt that she seemed to love; the shirt and pants made her blonde hair stand out like gold, and showed bits of red that normally wouldn't be seen unless she donned the color. At her feet, clashing horribly, were EVIL PINK fuzzy bat slippers.  
  
"Maybe you should fall again and kill those evil slippers," Lin muttered.  
  
"And miss that chance to annoy you? No way..." Robyn stumbled to the cupboard, her coffee radar seeking out cups, and grabbed the biggest mug she could find. She filled it with the strong brew, which had steeped long enough to bend I-beams, and gulped it down as thought it were her salvation.  
  
"That hurt a little," she said, twisting her neck as Cye handed her a plate of pancakes. She sat down next to Katrin and started to slowly make her way through the syrupy mass.  
  
Everybody was staring at her and she must have felt their eyes because she looked up.  
  
"What?" she asked, perplexed. "Do I have something on my face? Did I get a rug burn and am now bleeding horribly without even realizing it?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned to Lin.  
  
"I had a weird dream about you, Lin. You were wearing a grass hula-skirt and one of those coconut bra thingies, sitting on Sage's shoulders, and slapping everybody with a rainbow colored jump-rope."  
  
Lin blinked and turned away. "Okay. Scary!"  
  
"It's not scary, it's terrifying," Katrin said, smothering a laugh with her hand.  
  
"And you, Kitty. You were in one of those dominatrix outfits, carrying around a pillow and screaming, 'Where's my marshmallow!' to everyone." Robyn drank her coffee while Katrin choked on the piece of pancake she'd been chewing. The rest of the people at the table were just kind of staring at Robyn as if she were mad, which, let's face it, she is.  
  
"Mia, what's a dominatrix?" Yulie asked.  
  
"Never mind, Yulie," she said quickly.  
  
"Ryo?" Ryo sputtered on the juice he was drinking and looked around wildly for an escape.  
  
"Uhh, Yules, I ummm..."  
  
"It's something you'll learn when you're about fifteen," Robyn said without missing a beat.  
  
"But that's six years!" the little boy whined.  
  
"Yup. You'll think it's gross if they tell you now."  
  
"Oh." That shut the boy up as he continued eating.  
  
Pretty soon, everybody had cleared their plates and were dispersing from the table. Robyn, more alert now, cheerfully volunteered to do the dishes. Lin didn't know what she had to be so chipper about; cleaning was never fun, but then again, it was Robyn.  
  
Pretty soon, all the guys had cleared out, but all the girls stayed behind. Mia and Kayura were stacking the plates, Lin decided to be a sport and collected glasses and silverware, and Katrin was helping Robyn dry the dishes she had already washed.  
  
"I must admit," Kayura began in her proper voice. "It is nice to have more girls in this house."  
  
"I can imagine," Robyn said. "All those guys. Testosterone levels must be higher than all get-out."  
  
"Tell me about it," Mia said as they lay the dirty dishes up on the sink.  
  
Robyn, about that time, looked over at the slightly older woman and gave a thoughtful look.  
  
"Mia, have you ever thought about having something done to your hair?" she asked just as Lin finished collecting the silverware.  
  
That must have surprised Mia because she stuttered a bit. "Well.. no I guess... No.. I don't think so."  
  
"I was just thinking," the blonde continued as she dried her hand and lifted a lock of the cinnamon hair Mia possessed. "It would look really, really pretty if you got it cut and high-lighted."  
  
"You really think so?" Mia fingered her own locks a bit. "I must admit it is kind of boring."  
  
"It's not boring at all!" Robyn was quick to say. "It's gorgeous the way it is, how full and shiny. But I'm just saying that trying something new might turn gorgeous into stunning."  
  
"She's right, you know," Lin said as she studied the woman's locks. "About shoulder length, maybe, with a few twists of gold. Maybe a layer around the face. Simple." Lin glanced at Kayura, who seemed to be out of her element. "You too Kayura. You'd look great with your hair slightly bobbed to your chin."  
  
Katrin was even getting into it. "Yeah, with a few tendrils near your ears, or you could brush it back to give it a wind blown look."  
  
Mia and Kayura seemed to be soaking this in as they continued cleaning the kitchen. Robyn's eyes were sparkling at the thought of the two women find a new look. Both were pretty, but needed a little boost. Lin figured, what the heck, haven't anything better to do, and Katrin was starting to get excited over the prospect.  
  
Knowing the seed had been planted and was rapidly germinating, it was only a matter of time before Mia popped the question they had waited for.  
  
"Ah, Robyn? Lin? Katrin?" The three girls turned to the shy young woman and smiled.  
  
"Would you, maybe go with us to... ummm..." Kayura began.  
  
"To the mall to get our hair cut?" Mia finished. "And help us go shopping?" Mia must have known that she wasn't the most fashionably dressed person in the world.  
  
"Name a day and we'll be at your mercy," Robyn said, smiling impishly.  
  
Somewhere Else in the World... (Ooh. Finally we're somewhere other than the Ronins!)  
  
Long, slender fingers tapped gracefully against the glass of the crystal ball. The fingers belonged to an equally slender hand and traveled up a pale wrist which lost itself in the colorful folds of a kimono sleeve. The kimono was delicately patterned with twisting silver vines and leaves, the background of the material a deep blue. Traveling up the sleeve you came to delicate shoulders and went up a swan-like neck to a pixie-like face.  
  
Beautiful gray eyes were set into a pay face, and the orbs were almond shaped and lined with thick, long lashes. Long silver hair framed the beautiful face as it gazed into the depths of the crystal ball.  
  
And image was inlaid in the ball, that of a man, nude and writhing in pain, with long red tresses and fiery green eyes. He was obviously a warrior, by his long lean body and built frame. He was laying on a floor, screaming out his pain as invisible flames licked at his flesh.  
  
A sigh of longing escaped black lips as the feminine beauty stared at the man.  
  
"Kaiden," said the beauty, and the voice was husky and low, obviously not a female's voice. "Bring him here. Bring me my Anubis..."  
  
Kaiden, the Hunter, stood to the side of the beauty's chair and stepped into the light briefly as he strode to do his master's bidding. Kaiden was largely built, with a frame of muscles that bespoke of the strength to lift a hundred times his own weight. Blond hair was short cropped above his ears and his eyes were like dark lumps of dingy coal. He was graceful and silent for a man of his size. He left the room only to return moments later.  
  
Anubis, once bearer of the Armor of Cruelty, once the Holder of the Ancient's staff, now lay limply at the ethereal beauty's feet.  
  
"Anubis..." whispered the man. "Look at me..."  
  
He did not dare as he tried to push his nude body to its feet.  
  
"I said look at me. I am your Gray-Eyed Angel. I am your master, Lasheen. Look at me, my love." Lasheen's gray eyes were the color of pure silver now as they gazed upon Anubis's scarred body.  
  
"Never..." Anubis snarled in his cool, masculine voice.  
  
"Hmph!" came the delicate noise from Lasheen's throat. He waved his hand. "I will have you Anubis, so do not keep this up for long. I will have you and the world as my prize," he whispered as Kaiden drug the battered warrior back to his lair of pain.  
  
Moments later as Anubis tried to refute the pain that grabbed at him from the inside out, he closed his eyes so he could dream of his real Gray-Eyed Angel. The one who he had visions of since before he had been brought back to life and tortured under Lasheen.  
  
Lasheen, meanwhile, called up an image of the young woman Anubis was dreaming of, and a soft snarl left his lips, revealing sharp teeth. A pair of silvery, feathered wings spread out from behind him with the force of his anger. How dare this woman control Anubis! How dare she be his salvation from pain! Lasheen should be that soul to control and comfort Anubis!  
  
"Kaiden... Bring me this Angel..."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
*Love it? Hate it? What did you think? Please review! Constructive criticism welcome, wanted, cherished!  
  
-Gray 


	5. Robyn's Zone

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, are mine. Blah.  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
Chapter 5 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Robyn stared at the piles and piles of boxes with wide eyes. They literally covered every square inch of the room, save for a small crawl spaces here and there.  
  
"I know it's a lot," Mia said sheepishly. "It's all the rejects from the museum. Anything that wasn't pristine had to be gotten rid of, and I couldn't bear to throw all the beautiful antiques away."  
  
"Understandable," Lin said. "So where are we taking these?"  
  
"Up to the attic. Anything heavy, we'll leave for the guys to take for us."  
  
"Why don't we take the easy way out," Lin began, "kick those guys out of their dance recital, and make them do it all?" She spoke of the Ronins and Warlords, who were training outside.  
  
Kayura chuckled. "You know, I've always thought of Sekhmet as a bit of a twinkle-toes."  
  
Laughing, Mia grabbed a stack of small boxes. "Don't let him hear you say that. You might end up with snakes in your bed."  
  
"Not if he doesn't want the better half of my foot shoved up his ass."  
  
Laughing they all followed Mia's example and grabbed some boxes to begin hauling them up to the attic.  
  
"So tell me," Kayura began as she preceded them up the steps into the attic. "Do you three know how to fight?"  
  
Robyn peeked past the side of her stack of boxes. "We can throw a few punches if need be, but we've never had any real training." She shared a look with Lin and Katrin, one that Kayura and Mia couldn't see because of the boxes.  
  
"Maybe tomorrow we can see about teaching you some self-defense. I have a feeling Kaiden may show up again."  
  
"Poor girls," Mia commented. "Training from those guys is like having a language professor try to teach science."  
  
For the next two hours the girls made trips from the room to the attic, back and forth, back and forth, until they had made a considerable dent in the room's lack of space. Now there were only the few heaviest boxes, ready and waiting for the strong backs of the Ronin guys to be thrown out whilst carrying them.  
  
Robyn knocked some dust off the maroon tank top and shorts she had donned that morning as she made her way into the room she shared with her sisters. She and Mia had been talking about favorite books and she wanted to show Mia her Lord of the Rings book. (AN: It's a different world! They don't know about LotR, for all we know.)  
  
As she bent down to retrieve her duffle bag, she suddenly stumbled back as something hit her mind like a brink. It hurt! Oh God it hurt! She squeezed her eyes shut as the force of the vision assaulted her mind, and a single tear coursed down her cheek as she fell back onto the bed for support. She lowered her head between her knees to sooth the feeling of nausea welling up inside her.  
  
Images flashed before her, making her break out into a sweat. She took a few heaving breaths as she tried to make sense of the vision, but nothing came out clearly; the pictures were blurry, like bad TV reception, and made it worse for her to comprehend, made her swiftly brewing headache worse.  
  
Slowly the vision passed, fading away until it was less than a drippy faucet, and she curled up on her side, her ribs aching as she tried to take in much needed air. It felt like she had been slammed in the gut by Superman and she was never going to breathe again. But air was greedily sucked into her sore lungs, and soon she was able to sit up and then stand.  
  
"I need to zone," she muttered as she grabbed the book from her duffle bag and sailed down the stairs. She must have looked a fright because Lin and Katrin immediately came to her side to see what was wrong.  
  
"What happened?" Lin whispered urgently.  
  
"Do I look that bad?" she muttered. "Where's Mia."  
  
"Outside talking to the guys. Don't avoid the question," Katrin growled.  
  
"Nothing, okay. Just a vision. I need to zone for a while." Robyn handed the book to Lin. "Give this to Mia. I told her I'd lend it to her. I'm going to go zone."  
  
"Robyn! Don't you have your cards with you?" Katrin asked nervously.  
  
"Always. But it was too strong for the cards to hold. I don't think it would even apply to the cards if they were strong enough to hold it." Leaving it at that, Robyn sailed out the front door and made her way to lord-only-knows were.  
  
"Did you see her face?" Lin asked. "She was so pale..."  
  
"Her eyes were freakin' bloodshot," Katrin whispered. "It has to be bad. We need to get it out of her soon, if it was that bad. We should know."  
  
"She'll tell us eventually," Lin said. "We'll get it out of her sooner or later."  
  
Just then Mia walked in and they abruptly stopped their conversation.  
  
"Robyn said to give this to you," Lin said and handed the thick book to Mia.  
  
"Oh. Thanks. Where is she?" Mia looked behind them.  
  
"She went for a walk. She was getting cooped up," Katrin said quickly.  
  
"Okay. That doesn't surprise me, as energetic as she is." Mia smiled good- naturedly. "I was going to start lunch now. The guys are taking a break out back if you want to join them for some lemonade."  
  
They took the chance eagerly and slipped out without hesitation. Anything to avoid explaining where Robyn was.  
  
Meanwhile, Robyn was running at breakneck speed through the woods. She didn't know why, but the exertion of running always made her zone better. Most days a light jog would do it, but today she was pushing herself to the limit, running as fast as her legs could carry her, up hills, down hills, off and on the path. Her blood was pumping wildly, her hair was streaming behind her in a tangled mass, her feet barely touched the ground before they lifted off again. Part of her exertion was magic based; when she ran, her inhibitions were null and her power gave her the boost she needed to push herself farther.  
  
She didn't know how long or how far she had run before she collapsed at the bank of a small stream that ran through Mia's property; she didn't even know if she was on Mia's property any more, nor did she care. She only wanted to be at her limit.  
  
She was on her hands and knees, feeling the adrenaline and power coursing through her like a mad drug, and her eyes rolled back a bit as she automatically sought after a comfortable position to zone in.  
  
Zoning was the same as meditating to her, but she preferred the shorter word and thought it sounded neater. She was in her zone when she went under. She knew the moment she closed her eyes under the assault of her vision she would be under for a long time.  
  
In a moment, she was completely blanketed by the fog of the vision set before her. Her blood churned then cooled, her power simmered down and then froze over as she focused everything on that other plane of existence she found daily. Today it was harder, but she pushed through stubbornly until she was there.  
  
There they were, the images that found her earlier. Now she had found them. They were in her territory and she was going to decipher them even if it drained her of everything. Damned if she was going to be attacked like that and then not get her answers.  
  
She closed her inner eyes and concentrated hard. She was going to take the images somewhere stronger, somewhere guarded so they couldn't fight her. And when she opened her eyes again, she was exactly where she wanted to be.  
  
A breeze played gently over the tall stalks of dark grass. It was late evening, the moon was shining brightly, and the stars were literally like the brightest diamonds in the sky. Fireflies winked brightly around her and she turned to see the tree she envisioned. It was gnarled and old, the branches bare of leaves, but under the moonlight the bark shown like silver. Her tree. The being was huge, with branches low to the ground that were as thick as a good old oak tree's trunk. She called the tree a being, because to her, its branches were alive with its own soul. She winked once, and immediately the fireflies came to settle on his branches and stars fell from the sky to hang as silvery-white leaves. She stepped under its peaceful haven and breathed in and out.  
  
This was the one place no other being could go without her consent. She had every sort of blessing she could imagine to protect this place from invasion. And now that she knew there was someone out there powerful enough to get into her mind, she was glad she had taken the precaution to create this place. Now she would let the visions in; here, they had no power over her to hurt her and take her breath away. Here she was her own army, stronger than anything or anyone could imagine.  
  
She chose a spot to sit between its roots and as she settled herself, she took not of the long silver and emerald gown she wore; its cut was to her medieval tastes, the background color silver with twisted green vines curving all over her body. She smiled; no matter what, she never wore the same thing, and this was certainly a nice change of pace.  
  
"Enter," she commanded, her voice husky with the same control she was trying to keep on her anger. The anything outside the trees protective branches immediately became the images of her vision and she stared at the sky as it turned hazy.  
  
"Whoever you are, you will not get by without answers," she stated coolly and unleashed a sample of the power behind her words.  
  
It looked like an atomic explosion as the images receded at once, and then advanced in a blast of icy wind that Robyn only barely felt because of her tree's protection.  
  
"Show me my answers," she commanded regally. Whoever it was sending this vision obviously was thinking twice about the way they went about it, and were trying to get the upper hand.  
  
To prove this point, the vision exploded once more, but Robyn brushed it off and sent back another bout of her power, this one with a little push of the elements. Earth, air, fire and water were all drawn into this one as she pushed them with her soul out into the images before her.  
  
The explosion was greater than the first! Even the boughs of her tree groaned but Robyn refused to stop her assault until finally, all the image was wiped away, and all that was left was a black void.  
  
Then, a flicker of something and she smirked as the void once again became her vision. This time crystal clear.  
  
Surprisingly, there wasn't the jumble of colors and forms like before. Two figures, both women, stood there, smiling at her. One was fair, the other dark, and the love shining from them was something Robyn had rarely sensed before. She stood as she surveyed them. The fair one moved and spoke.  
  
"He's beautiful, sister. I must have him." Her hair was long white as snow and her eyes sparkled like the stars in Robyn's tree. Her love was great for the one she called her sister, but the lust that radiated from her was greater.  
  
"If you must, but I warn you-" the dark one spoke, but was interrupted.  
  
"Don't be silly, sister. I love him. It is true and pure." The dark one, whose hair was ebony and wavy and eyes black as pitch, was staring at the fair one with sadness.  
  
"You know what will happen. Do not say that I never warned you."  
  
A third figure appeared out of the gloom, simple in her beauty with her lovely chocolate eyes and hair, and stood between the sisters. While the fair sister radiated lust, and the dark one wisdom, this simple beauty held innocence and purity. Robyn stood at the edge of her haven, struck with awe as things unfolded.  
  
"He's here," she whispered shyly, her eyes round with her love for the unknown 'he' that had not been seen yet. "I'm ready. Wish me luck." She was dressed all in white, with small white roses pinned in her hair, and a loose veil draped over her whole body as she hugged her sisters.  
  
With dread, Robyn figured out what was going to happen.  
  
A wedding, a celebration. A man stood proudly at a table and toasted his new wife. The man was handsome as sin, with long red hair and gorgeous green eyes. Robyn's eyes widened when she saw him. Hell if he wasn't a shoo- in for Anubis. A few subtle differences stood the two figures apart, but she didn't have time to hash over those details.  
  
The vision moved swiftly to the part Robyn had feared the most.  
  
The man was locked in an embrace with the fair woman, and both were backed into the corner of the man's wedding chambers. The fair one was exuding a huge amount of power, power Robyn suspected was based on illusion, greed, and lust. Both were stripped nearly nude when the innocent sister walked in.  
  
Robyn cried with the pain of seeing those happy chocolate eyes turned dull brown with heartbreak, seeing that lovely bouquet of unknown white flowers fall to the ground. The man thrust the fair sister away and stumbled to his new bride with the effort to explain things. She wouldn't listen however, so great was her heartache. Instead she turned on her sister.  
  
"Fair and beautiful you greedily yearn, to own his heart and mine to burn!" she wailed, unknowingly beginning the last incantation any sister would ever utter. "And so begin your hell in life, as I cast out to end mine!" The words were so simple, so heartfelt. They were the fate of all sisters following them. Robyn screamed as the sister threw herself out the window, sealing the curse of all sisters.  
  
With tears in her eyes, Robyn bent her head and began to sob.  
  
She understood now, things her mother had never been able to tell her. The reason she didn't have to speak words to entreat the elements to do her bidding, why she had to keep her sisters so close to her, why she had to be careful of the sisters she loved. That was the test the sisters before her had failed. To accept that some things were not meant to be yours. Although Robyn didn't mind not whispering long incantations to seek out her power, now that she knew how it came to be, it felt wrong to be thankful.  
  
She looked out again as she felt a gentle push from the vision. She had to see it all.  
  
She watched as the husband grieved for days afterwards, before disappearing into oblivion for all anyone knew.  
  
The dark sister confronted the fair.  
  
"I warned you," she whispered. "Our circle is gone now."  
  
"We can find another," the fair snapped. "She was weak."  
  
"No, you were weak. And so begins the hell she promised." The dark noticed the change in the fair's eyes. "You can already see it. You of illusion, of deceit. Watch as your beautiful mask becomes a shell to live out eternity as nothing." The fair's diamond eyes had shifted to a dull gray. "You will never know to give the love of a mother..." With that, the dark walked away and never returned. Robyn saw this one as the mother of all sisters. She knew with certainty this wise sister had been the one to warn of the second test of the Sisters.  
  
There was no more after this. Robyn was thankful since she didn't know if she could take any more of this. She didn't know if she could take seeing more of a bitter past that had made her present, her future. She didn't know if she could take in the thought that something like that might happen to her. Her test was coming.  
  
When her thoughts had calmed, she had retreated back to the comforting embrace of her tree's roots. She was thankful for the light of the stars in its branches; she didn't want to be in the dark.  
  
Rationally, she reviewed the vision and its relevance to her and her sisters' place in the Ronin's world. There was a connection, if not through the innocent sister's husband's spitting image to the dead Anubis, then through something else she had not seen. But Robyn found that she had no more to give, and she had to get back. It might not have seemed like a long time in her blessed realm, but outside her body, she knew it had to be getting late.  
  
"Farewell, my Haven," she whispered reverently to the tree, the stars, and the fireflies.  
  
As she left her blessed realm, she thought about the innocent sister, and how much she wished the girl could have had the chance to live and love again. Alas, her power was not of life, so she was forced to admit the wish was impossible.  
  
When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a lotus position. Her cheeks were salty from her dried tears, and as she eyed the scenery around her with dull acceptance, she felt a presence behind her.  
  
"I've never seen anybody cry when they meditated," Sage said as he came around to study her from the front.  
  
Robyn smirked. "Well, I'm not just anybody, and my zone makes me do weird stuff." She stood and smiled at the pleasant ache left behind. She felt refreshed and energetic. "What time is it?"  
  
"You've been gone for almost four hours, you do the math." The remark wasn't meant to be scolding, but Robyn still felt like she was being reprimanded under Sage's careful violet gaze. She met his eye squarely and decided to say something to throw him off guard.  
  
"I've always wondered Sage: Why the fook does your hair stay in the same position under a waterfall, but it moves when you put your helmet on?"  
  
It seemed to do the trick, because his mouth opened and snapped shut as though he couldn't think of an appropriate answer. Robyn turned on her heel to start back up the hill, following the path she had beaten into the ground during her run through the woods. She had just reached the top when Sage's hand caught her elbow.  
  
"I never got to say thank you," he said softly. Robyn turned her gray gaze to his and smiled.  
  
"For what?" She knew perfectly well for what.  
  
"For my sword. I'll be the first to admit it's like losing a limb when I lost my sword."  
  
He released her elbow and they walked side-by-side back to Mia's mansion.  
  
"So do you meditate often?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah." She was surprised he was being so talkative. He had always seemed so reserved to her.  
  
"Does Lin meditate?"  
  
"Well, I've been trying to teach her-" she stopped and eyed him. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
"I was just wondering," he said smoothly.  
  
"Bull," she said in her sing-songy voice. "Sage, you're the King of Flirts."  
  
"I want to forget that you know so much about myself and the others, but it's hard to when you keep reminding us." He placed his hands in his pockets. "I was wanting to see if I could get Lin to lighten up a bit. You said you've been trying to teach her to meditate."  
  
"And failed miserably, might I add." Robyn popped her knuckles. "Sage, I'll warn you now, that I don't mind if you try to get Lin to lighten up a little more around you guys- in fact, I'd encourage it- but if you start flirting with her and leading her around just to get her to 'lighten up' it might hurt her. And if that happens, Big Sister will be on the warpath."  
  
He stopped and watched her solemnly. "It would not be my intent to hurt her."  
  
"What other intentions do you have besides getting her to lighten up then?"  
  
"I would like to be her friend, if nothing more," he said sincerely.  
  
"The nothing more part makes me wonder." Again with her sing-songy voice.  
  
"Well," he said with a cool smile. "As you put it, I am the King of Flirts."  
  
"That you are! So you do want something more than friendship with her!" Robyn eyed him critically. "Since you're a confirmed good guy, I suppose that you might be good enough for Lin, but you're still capable of hurting her." She let it hang and skipped on ahead of him.  
  
When they got back to the Koji Mansion, Robyn was assaulted by two female forms, who tackled her to the ground in the effort of seeing that she was all right.  
  
"Where the hell have you been!" Katrin yelled.  
  
"You freaking blonde!" Lin seconded. "You've been gone for hours!"  
  
"Thanks for worryin' now could you get your knee out of my stomach!" Robyn grouched. She wanted badly to get her sisters alone so she could explain her vision, but with the circle that was forming around them, she doubted that would happen any time soon. It was only a little after four, hardly time to head up for bed, and Mia and Kayura had requested that they go to the Toyama Mall that evening for their scheduled hair appointments; they'd wanted to get it done as soon as possible. So she knew that she was going to have to wait a long time. She was exhausted from her excursion in her zone, although she didn't appear to be, so telepathy was out of the question.  
  
When she was drug inside, she apologized to Mia for skipping out on cleaning the room some more.  
  
"Something was bugging me and I needed to get away for a while to think about it," she said. It wasn't a lie; it was only omitting certain truths.  
  
"It's no problem." Mia smiled. "I had the guys come up and do some real work for a change." They laughed as they got ready to leave for the Mall. Mia and Kayura's appointments were in less than an hour, so they had to get going if they wanted time to shop as well.  
  
"We're going!" Mia yelled as they made their escape and piled into Mia's Jeep. The Ronins had been miffed that they weren't allowed to go; they wanted to see Mia's and Kayura's new looks firsthand, but the girls had grouched them into submission.  
  
"This is nice," Mia stated as they cruised along. "I haven't had a car full of girls since high-school. Lately it's been nothing but the guys!" She looked frustrated. "It's so annoying sometimes, toting them with me about everywhere I go."  
  
"I can see how that would be annoying. Although, there have to be some good points, like them being your pack mules." Robyn grinned. "Tonight it's us chicks, no guys, and two makeovers in the process. Let's relish it."  
  
"Definitely!" Kayura giggled. Robyn laughed after the Warlady giggled; she'd never been able to fit giggles with Kayura's image, but it happened, so she had to adjust.  
  
"I don't mind riding around when it's just Ryo, but the others." Mia shrugged.  
  
"Sooo, Ryo's got the sweet-spot of your jeep-driving heart or something?" Robyn inquired impishly.  
  
"No!" Mia cried, her cheeks reddening, and the four other girls burst out laughing.  
  
"Mia and Ryo! Sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" The sisters couldn't help themselves as they taunted Mia's obvious crush on the Wildfire hunk.  
  
"Leave me alone!" she cried, but the girl was laughing. Kayura was stifling giggles herself, scrunched down in her seat as if it would help keep the dam up.  
  
"Honey, after we get done with you, you'll have Wildfire eatin' out of the palm of your hand," Robyn said, leaning between the front seats.  
  
And two hours later, Mia and Kayura both could have had men on the floor begging to even look at the palms of their hands.  
  
Kayura had gone with bob like Lin suggested, and it curved just so she could pull a brush through it and give it a flirty, wind-blown look. And much to the shock of the girls, she'd also had them add in several bleach- white streaks and some black as well. The effect was stunning with her deep blue eyes, and gave her an edge that was unbelievably beautiful.  
  
Mia too, had shortened her hair, but only to her shoulders, and her highlights shown like gold. It was a simple style, layered and elegant, and framed her face just so that it made her eyes stand out more and take away attention from her sometimes stubborn chin.  
  
They'd gone shopping, and totally revolutionized Mia's wardrobe, planning to get rid of every ounce of anything frumpy from the confines of her closet. They chose colors of rose, despite their intense dislike for its likeness to pink, because Mia like the color, but they threw it in with black and tan. They also picked out some flashier outfits that could be mixed and matched. Kayura too, got a few outfits, but she was better off than Mia was in the fashion department.  
  
And let's just say that when they got back home, the reaction to the two women's new looks was nothing short of amazed. Compliments galore. Ryo, the sisters had noticed, had had eyes only for Mia and was practically drinking in her image like a man in the desert yearns for water. Dais was staring at Kayura in a predatory fashion, and it made them wonder if something wasn't secretly going on between them.  
  
But the moment dinner was over and Katrin, Lin, and Robyn had a moment alone, the two younger sister cornered her.  
  
"What happened?" they demanded.  
  
Somewhere Else (Where would this mysterious somewhere else be?)  
  
Lasheen's fingers tapped against the crystal ball again as he stared into its depths at the pained form of Anubis. He was impatient for Kaiden to bring him his requested guest, but then he knew it would take the Hunter three days to reach the Earth and one day to get back. He had three more days to wait before he would have the key to getting Anubis to surrender.  
  
"You're just like him," he whispered to the image. "But more stubborn, I think. More resistant. Not for long. Once I have your little Angel, I'll have you as well..." He stood and walked about the room he always sat in. It was the only place he was safe.  
  
"And when I have one sister, I'll lure the others in... Then I'll lure in the Ronins. That silly Talpa. He didn't have a clue to what he was doing. He should have waited for the sisters to come, like I did. Unlike him, I'll have the world... I will have all worlds... with Anubis there with me."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
I hoped you liked this chapter. Ooooooh. Who is this mysterious Lasheen dude? When is Kaiden going to get the "angel"? What do the sisters have to do with anything even remotely Ronin!?! MWAHAHAHAH!... Oh... umm, more next chapter! Well duh, if there wasn't I'd be worried. Please review!  
  
-Gray 


	6. More Lin, Vaseline, & More Angels!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, are mine. Blah.  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
Chapter 6 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Lin glanced up as Sage entered the kitchen. It was early morning- earlier than she had awoken the day before- and she was surprised to see that he wasn't yet dressed and ready for the day.  
  
She sipped at her sugar- and milk-laden coffee, not greeting him as she thumbed through one of her Shonen Jump magazines. He was decked out in a pair of green boxers and a white t-shirt, and Lin could feel his eyes on her as he poured himself a cup of the strong brew she'd made.  
  
"Are you always up this early?" he asked as Lin scanned her eyes over one page then the next.  
  
"Sometimes." Sip, scan.  
  
"Are you having trouble sleeping?" His lovely violet eye was sparkling. "I could help you with that if you are." He grinned invitingly.  
  
-I'm sure you would,- she thought sarcastically. My, what she wouldn't do to dip his floss in some jalapeno juice. Hmmm, that sounded like fun! She made a mental to do just that sometime in the near future.  
  
Unlike Sage, Lin had showered and dressed already. She wished Robyn were awake to braid her hair since she hated doing it herself; her hair was loose and fell down her back in graceful red waves, annoyingly falling over her shoulder occasionally. Her gray t-shirt fit her like a glove and her green cargo shorts were showing off her long slender legs. She'd never admit it out loud, but she felt kind of uncomfortable around him in such get-up, thought there was nothing even remotely wrong with it.  
  
Sip, scan. "Whatever." She really didn't feel like listening to any of his flirtatious remarks.  
  
If Lin was a little less congenial that morning, it couldn't have anything to do with the breaking of one of her best bottles of potion. No, when she woke up that morning and shattered a vial of her strongest defense potion- in an attempt to grab an oil for her hair- thus spreading an awful burning rash over her whole left arm, it hadn't soured her one bit. No, that didn't have anything at all to do with her no wanting to listen to Sage.  
  
Besides that, she'd put up with it yesterday while Robyn was off in her zone. Before they'd finally started to worry about the blonde's whereabouts, Sage had been flirting, and flirting, and flirting, and flirting, flirting, FLIRTING! She had been moments from throwing something vile into his face to turn him ugly when somebody- she couldn't remember who- had announced that they should go look for Robyn. Thank God, or Sage would have been uglier than a bull-dog's ass by then.  
  
Still, Lin had been successful about disclosing nothing of her own personality, and she was glad to have scored that much at least.  
  
After a moment of silence, Sage must have given up because he set his cup on the counter and went back upstairs to get ready for the day.  
  
For the first time that morning, a grin sidled up the corners of Lin's mouth.  
  
Then it got shot down by thoughts of the night before.  
  
Lin stared at the pages of her magazine without really reading it. She was worried about Robyn. The girl was convinced that her vision of the Sisters before them was a warning to them. And while Lin admitted that Robyn was rarely wrong, she still couldn't believe that. Sure, a few coincidences here, some truths there, but was that really a reason to think that they were about to get tested?  
  
Lin had no doubt that Robyn, Katrin, and herself were there for a reason, possibly to help the Ronins defeat some Kaiden dude, but a test of the Sisters?  
  
-What makes Robyn think that it was even a test the first time around?- she wondered. -Robyn's good, but how does she know for sure?- She sipped her coffee and grimaced; it was stone cold now and she stood to dump it out and get a refill.  
  
She grabbed the carafe and poured coffee as she poured over her thoughts some more.  
  
"Okay. Let's think about all the crap Robyn said," she muttered to herself. "Okay... Kaiden sent Sage's sword to my world's past. Said event produced Ronin Warriors series. Damn that. Me, Katrin, and Robyn got together. Where do the first Sisters fit in here?"  
  
Lin and Katrin, the night before, had sat down to a bit of a history lesson as Robyn told them of her vision. But there was an Anubis look-alike in her vision. If there was an Anubis look-alike in that vision, then the first Sisters' supposed test had occurred in the Ronins' world. Or had it? Maybe the Anubis look-alike moved to the Ronin's world. Oh hell.  
  
Lin thunked her head on the table as she vowed to herself to never question Robyn like that again. It hurt too much.  
  
Despite her doubt in the authenticity of the vision, Lin decided she'd better have a little more faith in her elder sister. Especially if deciphering all that crap would get them back home, away from the Ronins.  
  
Sage came back down about thirty minutes later, looking perfect in his khakis and white button-down. Lin raised one thin eyebrow as she scanned him from top to bottom with a regal look plastered on her face and she chained her immediate mirth to the floor when she glanced at his "perfect" hair.  
  
He took up his coffee cup again, filled it, and sat down next to her.  
  
Sage couldn't help but scan her legs as he sat down comfortably near her. She was a willowy creature and his eyes were constantly drawn to her ankles, where she'd fastened a thin silver bracelet on each. He couldn't help that he found her adorable and that the anklets were driving him nuts. Just like that wall she had up was driving him nuts.  
  
"Are you doing anything today, besides helping Mia clean that room?"  
  
"Obviously not," she said coolly. "What would I have to do here?"  
  
Sage felt the edge of annoyance slip in. Responses like that and many others had been all he was able to get from her the day before, and it was really beginning to wear thin. No matter how much he liked the look of her, he was beginning to think she was little more than a waspish, ungrateful, rude little brat.  
  
"Well, considering we've not seen a sign of Kaiden, I was thinking maybe you'd like to come into town with me and catch a movie."  
  
"No thank you. I'll just stay here."  
  
Sage eyed her just as coolly as she had spoken to him.  
  
"Why do you act that way?"  
  
"Act what way?" Her eyes met his and Sage grappled with the wall he met there.  
  
"Distancing yourself? Walling yourself up?" He folded his arms across his chest and waited for her answer.  
  
"I wouldn't call it either of those two things," Lin said smoothly and she sipped her coffee. "More like, just not wanting to interact."  
  
"Same difference," he said stubbornly. "And you interacted just fine with Mia and Kayura yesterday. You can be polite to all of us, but beyond that it seems you're quite incapable of setting aside your prejudices against us."  
  
Lin glared at him, and Sage mentally marked a point in his favor. She was finally sparking.  
  
"I haven't the inclination to set aside my 'prejudices' against you guys for the simple fact that I'll be going home soon anyway. I don't see a point in-"  
  
"How do you know you're going home?" Sage interrupted.  
  
"How do you know I'm not?" she countered.  
  
"I don't, but I also don't see a point in you acting like we Ronins are some scum to be wiped off the bottom of your shoe." His violet eye had gone cold. "At least I've gotten that much out of you and your wall."  
  
He was satisfied to see her temper rise a bit more in her eyes.  
  
"What? So I'm not allowed to form an intense dislike against the stupid cast of some stupid kiddie-show that-" Lin stopped when he shot out of his chair and grabbed her hand. "Does this feel like a damn TV show to you!" he snapped. He tightly gripped her slender fingers in his, making sure she got it through her head that she could feel him. When she failed to answer he let go of her hand. "I didn't think so."  
  
He put both hands on the table and leaned over to her.  
  
"Just because this world is some cartoon over there, doesn't mean it's every bit as real as your world. It doesn't mean that the characters don't have thoughts and feelings. And just because Robyn has some weird sense of hero-worship for us, knows a lot of things about us that she can tell you, doesn't mean she knows us. You don't know us."  
  
With that, Sage left the kitchen. A few moments later, Cye entered so he could start breakfast.  
  
Lin stared at her coffee, unable to contain a feeling of- what? Guilt?- from washing over her. Sage had made some awfully true points, and her stubborn pride had been pricked. Like anyone she disliked being wrong, but her will was more stubborn than most others, and she was determined to continue being only civil to them.  
  
She admitted it wasn't really fair that she had gotten along great with Mia and Kayura, whereas she barely talked with any of the guys. She would converse with them politely without giving any of herself away. She figured it was that she got along with other females better and any connection they had with the Ronins was a moot point.  
  
Her mood no better than it had been when she woke up, she left Cye to putter around the kitchen and headed upstairs.  
  
Once in her shared room, she threw down her magazine, strolled over to her travel-potion pack, and rummaged through it.  
  
"Jalapeno, jalapeno... no jalapeno." Miffed, she searched the labels on the tiny bottles and found the next best thing, probably better than jalapeno juice. It was a special concoction she had made herself, one that, with a flip of her hand, could be anything she wished it to be, from poison to breath freshener. She smirked and pulled the inch long bottle, of what looked like water, from its spot and headed to the bathroom.  
  
She stepped in just as Kentoe stepped out of his room, yawning hugely. She stifled the urge to laugh at him- he looked hilarious in his bright orange boxers and wife-beater, both incredibly wrinkled, worn, and in dire need of straightening- and as she closed the door and zoomed in on Sage's basket of party-goods.  
  
Smirking coldly, she dug around and pulled out his container of floss and popped the lid. She fought with the top part until it came free and then extracted the rolled wheel of floss. She set it down and held up the bottle.  
  
"Hmmm. Scentless, and extremely hot. That should do the trick." She flicked her wrist over the bottle and it glowed a bit before settling. She pulled the corker from it and carefully poured a few drops onto the wheel of floss. Then she stuck the bottle in her pocket, fixed the floss container and tossed it back in the basket.  
  
"Don't neglect your gums, deary!" she said snidely and sidled out of the bathroom and back to her room.  
  
"Morning," she said as she entered to find Katrin and Robyn waking. Robyn looked a little more alert than she had the day before, unfortunate since nobody minded watching her fall down the stairs, and she was pulling her hair out of her braids and combing it with her fingers.  
  
"What's with you wakin' up so," huge yawn, "early!" Robyn inquired as she rolled her covers off and made to stand.  
  
"Nothing, really. Just do," Lin answered as she put the bottle back in her pack.  
  
Katrin must have noticed because she shot out of bed. "Who'd you poison! Please say Sekhmet!"  
  
"Squeezy's the Warlord of Venom. Doubtlessly immune to poison." Robyn stretched her legs and eyed Lin seriously. "So who's the unlucky one?"  
  
"Sage." Lin closed the top carefully and placed the pack carefully at the back of the dresser.  
  
"Nothing too drastic, I hope." Robyn crossed her arms. "Lin, I know you love pranks- we all do- but you know what I said-"  
  
"It's just a little spice," Lin snapped. "Nothing big. Besides, it's just a potion and-"  
  
"And it's a potion that was made by your magic." Robyn had assumed her serious mentor/teacher/big sister roll. "Lin, please be careful not to use to much of your magic-based potions. The natural ones are okay; they're not so suspicious."  
  
"It's my magic," Lin groused. "I don't see why I shouldn't use it when I please. Would you get off my case already, oh Wise One?"  
  
Slightly taken aback, Robyn sighed and tried again. "Just be careful, okay?"  
  
"Why do we have to hide our magic!" Lin suddenly burst out. "My gosh! Look at what they can do! I don't see why it's so big that we-"  
  
"We don't know how they will react!" Robyn crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"Well, how do we know that they'll react better or worse if they find out we've been hiding it from them?" Katrin said pointedly, tired of being left out.  
  
"We don't," Robyn said.  
  
"You could," Lin said accusingly. "You with the vision, and all the great powers."  
  
"Lin, you know I don't like looking at the future."  
  
"Not even for a little thing like this!" Lin threw her hands up. "You're so damned prudent Robyn!" Without thinking, Lin went on in her now-waspish tone. "On the outside you're a brainless, bouncy blond who lives for excitement, but on the inside you're little more than a scared little girl who's too frightened of her own damn power!"  
  
Lin snapped her mouth shut as Robyn's gray eyes turned a storm-cloud hue. Without saying a word to that, she walked to one of her bags, randomly grabbed some clothes and left the room.  
  
"You shouldn't have said that, Lin," Katrin said softly. Through the whole thing she had remained as silent as stone and was picking absently at her finger nails. "You know she's just being safe."  
  
"She's holding us back though! She won't let us do anything!" Lin was just trying to justify her behavior, and failing miserably.  
  
"She let's us do plenty," Katrin admonished. "She's just taking things slowly. I admit that I wonder why she takes things so slowly with us, but I still appreciate all she's taught us so far."  
  
"But she's always harping us about not using our powers-"  
  
"For a good reason!" Katrin said, pleading. "Can we please just drop this Lin?"  
  
Huffing, Lin exited the room and moved back down to the kitchen.  
  
Most of the guys were already assembled and Lin snagged a spot at the empty end of the table and scanned her eyes across the other occupants.  
  
Sage wasn't back yet and Robyn hadn't left the bathroom it seemed. Ryo was at the end of the table, absently chewing his breakfast and staring at Mia, who sat next to him. Her hair was falling cutely in her face and every once in a while she would glance up at the Wildfire Ronin and blush. Moving on she saw Kentoe wolfing down his food at the speed of light and next to him sat Kale, eating slowly as though he were savoring his breakfast. Continuing to Yulie, who ate like any child, to Sekhmet, aka Squeezy, who ate much like Kale. Dais and Kayura were on her side of the table cozying up and she noticed that the white-haired warlord couldn't keep his hands off the girl's hair; he was constantly touching it and drawing his fingers through the shortest strands at the nape of her neck.  
  
A few minutes later Robyn came down with Katrin; the blonde settled herself next to Sekhmet, not the least bit squeamish about his appearance, and immediately started in on the plate that Cye set down before her. Katrin sat next to Lin, and she was inwardly glad that the brunette wasn't too mad at her; they both started eating the food Cye handed to them. The only people missing were Sage and Rowen.  
  
Rowen was no surprise, but everybody seemed to have the same question on their mind as they waited for him.  
  
Finally, Yulie asked the question. "Where's Sage?"  
  
"I'm right here, Yules." As if summoned, the Halo bearer walked in, got his food and settled in next to Robyn.  
  
It was a few minutes before anyone realized that something was different about Sage. The warrior must have sensed something because he looked up and found everyone staring at him.  
  
"Uh, Sage?" Kentoe asked, actually pausing in his conquest of the plate before him so he could stare at the Ronin of Wisdom.  
  
Lin was staring at him with a wide-eyed look like everyone else so nobody would suspect her.  
  
"Yes Kentoe?" Sage asked when the other young man didn't continue.  
  
"Are you trying a new look, Halo?" Kale asked, obviously trying to hide a smile.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Have to admit, Sage," Ryo said from the head of the table, chuckling lightly. "Your hair... looks just as... ah... perfect.... as usual..." Wildfire couldn't go on because he started laughing against his hand, his eyes closed with the effort to stop the errant giggles.  
  
"What in the world are you-... OH MY GODS!" Sage had run his hand over his "perfect" hair and felt a wet splotch of goop where he touched it. At his exclamation, the whole table burst into laughter and a few glasses were knocked over and some silverware clattered to the floor as Sage shot from the chair, banged his knees against the table, and flew from the room. Laughter followed him in hot pursuit; after he disappeared the sounds of the bathroom door slamming and the shower starting spurred more giggles as the group sat there.  
  
"Oh Gods the look on his face!" Sekhmet was practically choking as he said this and grabbed a glass of water to toss back so his raw throat would cool.  
  
"What was that stuff!" Cye asked breathlessly.  
  
"I don't know, but it sure looked like something not suitable for children," Dais said, smirking and looking pointedly at Yulie.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" the little boy asked.  
  
"Another thing you'll learn when you're about fifteen," Robyn snickered.  
  
"But that's-"  
  
"-six years from now," the whole table filled in for him and burst into new giggles.  
  
"You know what?" Robyn said thoughtfully as she leaned back with a glass of orange juice. "That reminds me of my dog Buffy. She got into a bottle of Vaseline once and ended up with hair like that."  
  
"Birdie, everyone reminds you of something weird," Katrin said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"I'm gonna start callin' him Buffy," the blonde continued as if Katrin had said nothing. This, of course, spurred excited chatter over how Sage might react to that and the mutual vow that everyone there was going to call him Buffy from now on just to tick him off.  
  
Lin was cackling victoriously as things went on around her and she stuck a point on her invisible Sage vs. Lin scoreboard. She knew there would probably be hell to pay for her little stunt if he ever found out who did it, but she didn't overly care about the consequences right then; it had been soooooo worth it.  
  
There were some consequences she couldn't live with, however and she followed Robyn up the stairs when breakfast is over.  
  
"Robyn?" she asked softly from behind her older sister when they entered the room. Robyn turned around.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked softly. This was the side of Robyn Lin dreaded seeing the most; it was the soft, vulnerable side. Sometimes it had its virtues, but right now Lin couldn't stand it. She had been cruel earlier, and she hated herself for it.  
  
"Listen, I just wanted to say... That is... I'm sorry." Lin looked down at her feet. "I didn't mean what I said earlier. I just... I'm just..."  
  
"It's okay Weasel," she said softly, and for once Lin didn't mind the annoying nickname. As one they both walked forward and hugged each other tightly. "I understand, hon." Robyn pulled back and framed her sister's face. "I know that you're frustrated, for more than one reason. I just don't want to rush things with you guys."  
  
"Can I ask you a question?"  
  
"You just did," Robyn pointed out impishly and they laughed as they perched on the edge of the bed.  
  
"How long did it take you to learn everything you did?"  
  
Lin said something akin to pain cross those gray eyes before it passed and became a sad little spy. "Truthfully, not very long. I learned everything quickly, but not by choice, mind you." She fingered a lock of hair. "If I could go back, I would try and take things slowly, but time demanded that I learn fast."  
  
"Is that why you're taking things slow with us?" Lin asked, truly curiously. "Because you're making up for how fast you learned?"  
  
"It's not just that," Robyn said. She leaned forward. "Lin, it hurt me to learn things so quickly. I don't want the same to happen to you." The blonde stood from the bed and skipped to the door. Lin knew this was a sign that the subject was painful and now officially closed, so she breathed in slowly and let it slide. Then she stood and followed her sister out of the door.  
  
"So what are we doing today?" Robyn asked animatedly as they met Mia and Ryo at the foot of the stairs.  
  
"Training," Ryo said. "And you three are training with us."  
  
The bright expression left Robyn's face, replaced with a look of miserable acceptance. "Physical exertion. Woo."  
  
"Yippee," Lin said with a dryer voice than Robyn had used.  
  
"Nothing big," Ryo continued. "When Sage decides to face the world again, we'll start, but until then we'll show you some quick warm ups."  
  
"Kat's already outside," Mia said, smiling.  
  
"Oooh. Don't let her hear you call her that," Lin said, grinning at Robyn.  
  
"Oh. Does she prefer Katrin?" Mia looked as though she were afraid she had crossed some invisible boundary.  
  
"Yes. You see," Lin explained as they headed out to the back yard. "Kat resembles 'Kitty' and 'Kitty' is the name we use to annoy her. 'Kitten' is just as bad."  
  
"Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!" Robyn yelled in a high-pitched cry as they stepped onto the back deck.  
  
"And as you can see, Birdie enjoys using said name!"  
  
"SHUT UP!" the brunette screamed.  
  
"Oh, poor little Kitten's mewing for-" *WHAP!* The angered and petite girl had come up to throw her ever-present silk bag, which was heavy with some unidentifiable object, into the back of Robyn's head. The thick-skulled blonde only seemed to find this amusing as she burst into a fit of what could be dubbed "witch cackles."  
  
"Shut up you butthead!*" the girl cried, and the simple expression only made the giggles worse until she finally huffed and walked away to sit beside Cye, who was sitting next to White Blaze, so she could pout. The Brit was chuckling and trying to hide it as he turned a bright smile on Katrin's steamed person and struck up a conversation that had the girl blushing and chatting nervously.  
  
Lin noticed this and felt a smile tug at her lips. She was kind of envious of Katrin; she seemed to be giving the Ronin's a chance, and Lin felt a tug at her heartstrings telling her she should do the same. Her stubborn pride was still in the way, and she wondered if she should definitely should just toss it aside.  
  
Time would tell.  
  
Sage came out a minute later, his hair stiff with real gel, and a cool look on his face as he took his armor orb from his pocket and scanned the girls. Then he made a silent decision and stuck the orb back in his pocket.  
  
"So, let's warm up," he said smoothly.  
  
"Joy!" Robyn said sarcastically.  
  
-Somewhere Else (Damn, we still don't know where. Lasheen's Joint!)  
  
Anubis breathed easy for a moment as the pain stopped for a while. Lasheen must be going to bed. At least that's what Anubis thought he did; he didn't really know if the monster slept or not, but the time when he was free of pain was enough time for a good night's sleep.  
  
He winced has he turned over on his back and the cool stone touched the inflamed welts on his back. It felt like he had been tortured by Talpa, but Talpa had never left such lacerations behind. The stone helped the pain a bit, but the pressure of his weight made the coolness a moot point, so he rolled to his side, where the pain wasn't as great on his skin.  
  
One thing about the power was that it made him warm, and when it left him for seven long hours, he quickly became chilled. Not a surprise since he was as naked as a babe in his little stone cell. There was no window, so no breeze touched him, but just the darkness and the silence chilled him like no other.  
  
He shouldn't think of the power Lasheen used on him as "warm" but rather as hellish, but his chilled body could make him think of it in no other way. A shudder wracked his frame as he curled up against the protest of his aching bones and tried to keep in some heat.  
  
He was hungry, but he would never admit it out loud. He'd been there for weeks and that silent bastard, Kaiden, had forced the only things he had eaten or drank past his lips. He refused to willingly touch the fine gourmet dishes Lasheen had brought to him every day. He didn't trust anything that came from Lasheen's so-called "generosity". Torture and fine food, what a place!  
  
As if reading his mind, a door appeared where there had been none on the stone wall, and it opened. In slide a tray of food, pushed by no hand. The door closed and left Anubis to eat the fine food by the candle that had appeared, lit, on the tray. He ignored it, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.  
  
In his few hours of peace, Anubis liked to close his eyes and try to meditate, but his atmosphere was daunting and all he could really do was dream of a pair of storm-gray eyes, set in a pale and cheery face. Long blonde hair framed his angel's face in thick, straight layers. He called her an angel because at her back was a fluffy pair of white wings, making her look innocent in the sultry and satiny nightdress she wore. The satin of the nightdress was dark gray, and the thing that always puzzled him was that she was sprawled on a bed of dark crimson silk. On closer observation she had a few freckles on her shoulders, and she would fidget while gazing at him, her legs in the air and crossed at the ankles as she lay on her stomach. Occasionally she would run a hand through her waist-length locks, look down, then back up, and one of the thin spaghetti straps of her nightdress would slip down.  
  
She did little more than this, and Anubis had hours to study her as she shifted a bit here and there. She never lost her cheerfully shy expression, or the twinkle in her gray eyes. So Anubis picked these things out about her and compared her similarities to Lasheen.  
  
Lasheen, disgustingly, had dubbed himself Anubis's Gray-Eyed Angel, although it was insulting to the Angel of his dreams. Lasheen dipped into Anubis's thoughts and dreams constantly, especially during his torture, when the vision of the girl would comfortingly appear to him. Lasheen's hair was nearly white, whereas the Angel's was the sunny color of wheat and sometimes flashes of gold could be seen. His captor's eyes were gray and changed to silver when he was angered. The Angel's eyes never seemed to move from their pleasant storm-gray.  
  
Sighing, he opened his eyes; little good it did him since the room was the dark, the candle having gone out ages ago, and he couldn't see anything.  
  
He didn't know who she was, felt that she might be real; his senses were muddled in this world that belonged to Lasheen, so he couldn't just depend on meditation to give him his answers.  
  
Anubis had been there for months, locked in a cold dark room, and the lack of food and exercise had taken its toll. He was weak and powerless now. His ribs had begun to show through his skin, and he knew he must look like death warmed over, which, let's face it, he pretty much was. Being brought back to life had been a surprise, especially when the ethereal Lasheen had been there to greet his first breath with a smoldering kiss that had made Anubis wish to retch his new life through his esophagus. Then had been Lasheen's first offer to become little more than the station befitting the lowest whore. Disgust wracked his body as he shuddered at the memory. He closed his eyes and searched for the vision of his angel.  
  
Despite the similarities she shared with Lasheen, she was his only salvation. He felt that much at least.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
*Hey'all. What do you think? Horrible? Terrible? Wonderful? Neat-o Sp'deat- o? Anything at all-o? B-I-N-G-Ohhhh.... never mind. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this latest installment to "Just Returning Yer Sword." Any constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks to the group who reviewed. Oh, and the * next to BUTTHEAD is to remind a certain someone who CONSTANTLY uses that word! GRUMPH! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! Anyway.  
  
Also, if any of you have noticed that I've written Kale's name two different ways (Kale and Cale) I apologize. If you notice it any more, please ignore it. I will try to catch things like that, and for the most part I'll be using "Kale." Again, I apologize for my lack of attention.  
  
Oh, and I'm going to be, in the future, creating a small Fan Art web site for my fic, and if you want to, when I've made the site, if anybody would like to send in any art of their own fics, my fic, or just Ronin Pics they've drawn. My e-mail's on my bio page, and note that the page is not up yet. Anywho, toodle-loo!  
  
-Gray 


	7. Katrin's Fear & Lin Gets Pinned

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, are mine. Blah.  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
Chapter 7 By: Soulful Gray  
  
When Katrin woke up the next morning, she'd never thought Lin would have pulled another prank so closely behind her first one.  
  
Of course, the screams down the hall led her to believe otherwise and she fell out of the bed.  
  
"What the crap!" Robyn cried out when Katrin landed on top the unfortunate blonde. Lin snapped awake and looked around sleepily.  
  
"What the-" Lin stopped what she began saying when the screams started up again and she smirked victoriously.  
  
"Score!" She yelled out and Katrin turned wide eyes on her.  
  
"What did you do!" she squeaked, wondering what her older sister could have done that caused such disturbing sounds down the hall. She figured it was Sage; Lin had said he woke up really, really early.  
  
She heard footsteps pounding down the hall, and as one the three girls jumped up and grabbed their robes, their muscles and joints protesting loudly as they moved quicker than they should have.  
  
They tumbled through the door and stared at Sage, who was in the hall surrounded by the other rooms' occupants. They were patting him on the back- his screams had stopped- and he was sucking air as though to cool off his mouth.  
  
Eyes wide, Katrin looked up at Lin, who was hiding the devious evidence of her prank with a cold mask. She knew Lin had messed with Sage's hair gel, but she didn't know she'd do something like this. When she said "something spicy," Katrin hadn't realized it would be something sooooo spicy, from the signs Sage was giving off.  
  
Mia ran downstairs for a moment and then came rushing back up with a glass of milk and shoved it in Sage's hand. He gulped it down at the speed of light and nearly choked in the process, but it seemed to have cooled the temperature of his mouth because he stopped breathing so hard.  
  
"What happened!" Ryo asked in concern as he patted his friend on the back.  
  
"Floss," the blond muttered in a cracked voice. "Burn."  
  
"That's weird," Sekhmet said. "I borrowed it last night and it seemed fine to me." Sage turned a suspicious look on the reptilian Warlord, who threw up his hands in defense. "I didn't do it. Don't look at me like it was my fault."  
  
"I used it last night, too," Sage growled. "It didn't burn my gums to a crisp last night, though." He was obviously pissed. Who wouldn't be, after having two, count'em TWO pranks pulled on him in a row!  
  
Katrin felt sorry for the blonde; he seemed to have really pushed the wrong buttons with Lin, and he was bearing the whole of her schemes. She figured Lin had labeled him as the worst of them all and decided he would be her unfortunate victim forever.  
  
"What time is it?" Robyn asked, yawning.  
  
"About five-thirty," Mia answered.  
  
"Five-freakin'-bloody-thirty..." the blonde muttered as she ambled back to the bedroom to her pallet on the floor. "Too early." They watched her sleepy, muttering form disappear in the door and heard the thunk of her landing on the floor.  
  
"Sage, you gonna be okay, buddy?" Kentoe asked. The blonde Ronin looked okay, but nobody could be for certain with him.  
  
"I'm perfectly fine," he answered crossly. Without another word, he marched into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.  
  
"Well, that was interesting way to start the morning," Cye piped up in his adorable British accent.  
  
While everyone scuttled back to their rooms, Katrin found her thoughts running from Lin's little pranks to her time in the Ronin world. The past few days had been trying for Katrin, but she found that she was adjusting well enough. She actually kind of liked it in the Ronin world.  
  
It made it easier that Mia and Kayura were there, since she didn't think she could stand to live around just men. But the Ronins and Warlords were pretty nice, so she supposed she was comfortable enough around them. One of the only ones she had a problem with was Sekhmet, mostly because he liked snakes and she was terrified of them. She'd glimpsed into his room one time and seen an aquarium, and that was all it took before she'd gotten the heebie-jeebies and had to get out of there. Of course, she didn't really know if he had a bad personality or anything; she was just scared of him.  
  
She had a few problems with Rowen; he wouldn't stop calling her a "chick" and it bugged the hell out of her. She wasn't sexist- she used the word sometimes herself- but with his accent, it was a deadly combination for annoyance. And his accent also reminded her of Joey Wheeler from Yu-Gi-Oh, so that was another strike against him.  
  
Katrin was pretty comfortable around the rest of them, especially Kentoe and Cye. Kentoe struck her as the big-brother type; he was always watching out for her, and she disliked it when he would fill up her plate with more food than she could eat, she liked the thought of having someone watching out for her. Needless to say, she had tons of someones looking out for her, but she didn't mind one of them being a guy for once. He was a sweetheart, really. And then there was Cye. Cye was really nice to her; he wasn't pushy like Kentoe, but he had been helping her out a lot the day before, when they had shown the girls some regular warm-ups to do. And he was cute.  
  
Blushing at the direction that particular thought had taken, she crept into the room she shared with her sisters and spotted Lin grabbing her stuff to get ready for the day. She wasn't surprised anymore. She'd gotten used to Lin waking up really early the last few days.  
  
"So do you think we'll finally get the other rooms done today?" Lin asked as Katrin sat down on the bed.  
  
"I hope so." After warm-ups the day before, Lin, Katrin, and Robyn had followed Mia and Kayura back up to the third floor where they were clearing out the two rooms. They'd started on the second junk-laden room and now both lay empty and clean. A trip to the attic had produced one twin bed- frame and two dressers, so Mia had called in an order for another bed-frame and some mattress sets, which would hopefully be there in the next couple of days. So, without anything to put in the rooms yet, they'd made a trip to a paint store and grabbed some cans of light blue and yellow, enough to give each room two coats each.  
  
"I feel kind of bad," Robyn said from the floor, and Katrin jumped. She'd thought Robyn was asleep. "You know, we're basically living here for free and we've done nothing in return." She rose to a sitting position. "It makes me feel like a mooch."  
  
"I'll admit that," Lin said and leaned against the dresser. "I don't like the guys, but Mia is being really great by letting us stay here."  
  
"Yeah," Katrin conceded and pulled her legs under her. "I don't know what we could do though. It's not like we can pay her rent; we don't have jobs here, nor do we have ways of getting jobs."  
  
"We'll figure something out," Lin said.  
  
"Maybe we could assume daily chores for a while. Let them take a load off." Robyn jumped up. "We could commandeer the kitchen and be docile little women!" she said suddenly in an excited voice.  
  
As one, Katrin and Lin smacked their heads.  
  
"Okay then. Guess that's a no."  
  
"Yeah, that's a no," Katrin confirmed in an exasperated tone.  
  
"You two are just no fun." Robyn shot to her feet and flew out of the room. "I smell coffee!!" she cried as she sailed- more like fell- down the stairs.  
  
"She's a psycho," Katrin said she watched her sister leave the room.  
  
"Did you just now figure that out?" Lin mumbled dryly.  
  
"No. But I felt like saying that just in case you didn't know yet."  
  
"Oh I knew. Believe me, I knew." Lin chose that moment to escape to the bathroom, long since vacated by Sage.  
  
"Buffy needs to watch his back," Katrin said, grinning, as she dug into her suitcase.  
  
Pulling out some clothes, she continued with her thoughts.  
  
She wondered if she couldn't just conjure some official documents or some crap that would state them as legal citizens, but no; that would be too risky to do in front of the Ronins until they found out about their powers. Then she wondered about some sort of appreciation gift for Mia. It was her house and her money that was going into their welfare. Besides helping out with chores, she supposed a gift would be nice for the slightly older woman.  
  
She decided she would run it by Robyn later and waited for Lin to get out of the bathroom.  
  
Later, at breakfast, she was seated between Cye and Kentoe. Under normal circumstances, being stuck between two guys would have unnerved her, and she would have stuck close to Lin and Robyn, but she was feeling more and more comfortable with the Ronins every moment that went by.  
  
"So are any of you guys going to help us paint those rooms today?" Mia asked from her place next to Ryo.  
  
"I'll help," the Wildfire Ronin immediately volunteered, and Katrin stifled a giggle at the sappy look on his face.  
  
"I can," Cye said as he rose to take his plate to the sink. "Besides training, none of us really have anything to do."  
  
While they discussed this, Katrin looked down as White Blaze popped up next to her chair. With a love-struck look on her face, she reached down and began scratching the beast behind the ears.  
  
A few moments of this, and White Blaze nudged his head against her hand and looked up at her, his beautiful crystalline eyes meeting her own, and Katrin was once-again struck with the intelligence that radiated in those orbs. It was as if he knew things about her even she didn't know. She scraped her fingers through the silky fur on his forehead.  
  
"Kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty." It took her a while to realize that Robyn was repeating her bothersome little nickname over and over again. Snapping out of her reverie, Katrin looked up in time to have something bounce off her nose.  
  
She pursed her lips and glared at the older girl, who was grinning as if she had scored the winning touch down at the Super Bowl.  
  
"Grrr," she muttered without thinking.  
  
"GRUMPH!" the blonde yelled in response.  
  
"Oh, shut up Birdie!" She picked up the thing- a piece of paper- that had bounced off her nose and threw it back at Robyn, smacking her between the eyes. Comically, the girl crossed her eyes.  
  
"Oooh! I think it left a bruise!"  
  
Glaring at her, Katrin crossed her arms over her chest and kicked the girl under the table.  
  
"Holy spud-stuffins! Kitty's getting violent!"  
  
The rest of the table, by now used to this, could only chuckle and try to ignore it.  
  
When they were finally done with their spat, Katrin looked kitty-corner from her, where Buffy was seated, silently sipping his coffee and reading the news paper. He didn't seem any different than normal, his usual silent self, and Lin was across from him, doubtless thinking up new tricks to pull on the poor guy.  
  
Katrin peeked all around the table a bit before something caught her eye, on the floor, at her feet.  
  
"SHIT!" she screamed as the harmless little green snake slithered near her foot. "Get it away!!" she shrieked as she jumped into the nearest lap which happened to be Cye's.  
  
The entire group had started at her exclamation, but she didn't bother to gauge their expressions. She just had to get away from the snake! Visions of thousands of the vicious little creepy-crawlies slithering over her flashed in her mind's eye, and she clung to Cye, terrified.  
  
"Katrin!" Robyn, the ever-watchful sister, leapt down under the table and quickly got the snake into her hands, not worrying about what kind it was or whether it would bite her; all that mattered was getting her little sister's biggest fear out of plain sight.  
  
Lin, not too thrilled about having a snake under foot, had shot from her chair and was standing behind Cye's chair, not really scared but not very happy to see such a reptile in her presence. Cye for the most part, seemed to know just what to do as he whispered softly consoling words to the girl in his lap.  
  
Robyn crawled from under the table, talking quietly to the tiny snake before she looked at Sekhmet.  
  
"I'm guessing she's yours?" she said softly.  
  
"Yes." Sheepishly, Sekhmet reached down and took the snake from her hands. "She must have slipped out of her cage." Without another word, he left the room to return his errant pet to her cage.  
  
Robyn walked around the table and crouched down so she was looking up at her little sister.  
  
"You okay, Katrin?" she asked. When she didn't get an answer, she reached up and tucked a strand of Katrin's dark hair behind her ear. "Hey, it's okay sis. It's not there anymore. Besides, you know I wouldn't let any snake get you."  
  
Katrin was hardly listening. Size, shape, color, type, venomous, non- venomous- it didn't matter to her. A snake was a snake. And she had just had a snake crawling dangerously close to her foot, something she didn't want to happen ever again till the day she died.  
  
She wondered what they thought of her; probably snickering over what a baby she was, screaming when she saw the tiniest snake in the whole world. But she couldn't help it. The fear of the scaly creatures was innate, something she'd always had and could never get rid of. They had to think she was a whuss.  
  
She wished she were back home right then, closed up in her huge room in her huge mansion, on her huge bed. It was a place that no snake would even think of going; she had the best resources available to make sure no snake would ever set scale on her property, let alone crawl at her feet. She wanted to be home so much right then, despite a few certain details, it hurt to think about it. All because of one tiny snake.  
  
The Ronins didn't seem to know what to think as they stared at the petite girl sitting in Cye's lap and holding on for dear life. Her fear of snakes was more than obvious, but they had never seen somebody react so badly to one of the creatures; Katrin was literally petrified, not moving a muscle and she clung to Cye's shirt front. As they watched, Lin seemed to be trying not to let the snake get to her, and Robyn had just downright not minded its presence at all, aside from it scaring her friend.  
  
It was a few minutes before Katrin was willing to open her eyes and remove herself from Cye's lap, and then without a word to anyone, she fled the room, her cheeks bright red with embarrassment, and locked herself in the three girls' room.  
  
"Is she going to be okay?" Cye asked after she fled her spot on his lap. He was worried about the girl, and his heart ached to see such fear coming from her.  
  
"Just let her sit for a while," Robyn said softly. "She just needs some breathing space."  
  
And thus concluded their morning.  
  
A few hours later, Lin had removed herself to the bathroom to scrub the paint off her hands and from under her finger nails. They'd been painting for about two hours, since Katrin had crept out of the bedroom to rejoin the living. No one said anything, just let her take up a brush and start on a wall.  
  
They were done with the painting for now. They had opened the windows to get the smell of paint fumes out, and after an incident involving White Blaze, Yulie, a can of sky blue paint, and the grass outside, they'd called it quits.  
  
Lin chuckled as she scrubbed at her hands. Yulie, deciding to be a little boy like he was, had wanted to balance a can of paint- which hadn't been tightly closed- on his head while he was sitting on White Blaze. He would have done well had White Blaze not decided it was time to jump out the window, and since he was a HUGE tiger, he could easily accomplish the feat with the boy on his back. However, as he made the leap, the can tipped over, cracked the tiger on the head and burst open. With streaks of blue paint running all over his face and fur- and Yulie's shorts- his land had been more than a little ungraceful, and he'd clumsily slammed into the lovely freshly mowed grass that hadn't yet been bagged. At least no one was hurt.  
  
They'd also found a pair of fake angel wings, somewhat dusty, hidden up in the corner of the closet, previously unseen by the girls when they'd cleaned. When they found them, Lin and Katrin had attacked Robyn and shoved her into the harness that held the cute feathery wings to the body. She'd squawked in an amusing way, but hadn't been able to remove them, and nobody was about to part with humor to rid her of the burdensome wings.  
  
She'd finally scrubbed her hands free of the paint when Robyn knocked on the door. It was cracked open a bit and Robyn poked her head in, a serious look in her darkening eyes. Instantly, Lin knew something was up.  
  
"Hey, just want to you be on the look-out. I've got funny vibes," the blonde said softly.  
  
"Funny as in 'bad' or funny as in 'not sure'?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know yet. I'm leaning towards bad." She leaned against the doorframe- or tried to with the annoying pair of wings she couldn't get off- her voice low. "I don't know. It's sort of the same feeling I got with the vision the other day, but it doesn't hurt this time."  
  
"Have you looked into the cards?" Lin asked, thought she already knew it had to be a definite no. Robyn almost never used the green card to see what was up.  
  
"Nah. I think I'll just let it play out." A usual thing. "Just wanted to let you know."  
  
"Thanks," Lin said softly. "Have you told Katrin yet?"  
  
"Yes. I got it while we were in our room, and I told her first."  
  
"Okay. We can talk about it in a bit. Just let me put on some lotion."  
  
"No problem." Robyn skipped out of the bathroom and back to the room.  
  
Lin reached into her bag, not bothering to close the door this time, and dug around for her bottle of lotion. Her hands felt dry after the beating they'd taken with the paint and she wanted to give them some relief.  
  
However, what she encountered with her hand, was not a bottle of lotion, nor a glob of it, but rather a pile of something cold, wet, and very sticky.  
  
Jerking her hand of her bag with the open bottle, she exclaimed, a little too loudly, "Shit!" The gel was already beginning to dry and she shoved it under the tap to wash it off. The gel, though, had other ideas, and she accidentally clenched her hand into a fist under the water. She realized her mistake when she couldn't open her fist.  
  
"Problems?" came a voice from the doorway and she whipped around to see Sage standing there with a cold look on his face. He looked pointedly at her hand and raised an eyebrow. "I probably should have guessed it was you. What were you doing? Planning to put Vaseline in my gel bottle again and something went wrong?" He smirked. "Looks like the joke's on you."  
  
"Piss off," she snapped as she continued trying to scrub the gel off her fingers.  
  
She heard him do something behind her and before she could react he had reached around and pulled her hand from under the water. She stiffened and would have thrown back her foot to kick him where it counts, but he had predicted the action and locked her legs in place with one of his own.  
  
"The water makes it worse," he said softly in her ear. She glanced up in the mirror and met his eyes, her own were flashing with anger, and his were cool with amusement. "Just pour a little of this on it." He had a bottle of some sort of liquid in his hand and he poured a little of it over her hand and began scrubbing her fingers with his. It was only a few moments before the gel had been broken down and he dipped her hand under the flowing tap to wash it away.  
  
"Thanks," she muttered stiffly and tried to scoot away from him, but he seemed to have other ideas as he twisted her around and pressed her up against the counter.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" he inquired softly, dangerously.  
  
"To my room," she snapped.  
  
"Not yet. Not until we've... discussed a few things." He kicked the door closed and locked it. He leaned forward until their noses were almost touching, but Lin refused to back down from him.  
  
"You like pulling pranks on people, don't you Lin?" It was more of a statement than a question.  
  
"So?" she said snidely.  
  
"So, I'm just letting you know that I don't appreciate what you've done so far." He pressed his body close to hers, and had she been any other girl she would have cried sexual harassment, but she wouldn't be afraid. However, the fact that he was sexy as hell and knew what he was about when it came to girls, made it a little hard not to notice that it wasn't an unpleasant feeling, being so close to him.  
  
"Really. I didn't get that vibe from you," she whispered silkily, mocking him.  
  
He ran a finger down her cheek, and she was tempted to bite it. It tickled a little and the temptation to bit it slowly turned into the temptation to graze it with her lips.  
  
"I'd be willing to forgive you, if you did something for me?" This time his voice was soft with request, and Lin could feel something inside her just wanting to melt, a brick in her wall.  
  
"And what would that be?" she ground out through clenched teeth, reprimanding herself for the crazy feeling.  
  
"Nothing much." He played with a tiny lock of her hair, and he was staring at her mouth intently. "Tell me a little about yourself." It was a simple request. "What are you hiding about yourself that makes you... unwilling to open up to any of us. What makes you pull your little stunts."  
  
"I really don't think that's any of your business." Lin wanted to shake herself. Her voice had come out waaaaay too soft for her taste, as though she were almost... breathy.  
  
"Okay then... I'll change my request." He smiled softly. "Go out with me tonight."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"My, you're just not a very agreeable female, are you?" He "tsked" once. "How can I get you to give me a chance?"  
  
Lin wondered how this had shifted from his "forgiveness" to wheedling a date out of her. She suspected that had probably been his intent when he stepped into the bathroom. It was unnerving, also, that she was curious to see what a date with him would be like.  
  
"Leave... me... alone," she said forcefully, trying to make herself see reason.  
  
"Not until you say yes." As if to give force behind his ultimatum, he pressed closer, and Lin found she couldn't stand it anymore and boosted herself on to the counter to put some space between them.  
  
"Say yes and I'll leave you alone until our date," he promised.  
  
God, anything to get the hottie out of her sight so she could breathe and repair her mask of ice!  
  
"Fine," she snapped. She turned her head away, and was appalled to feel her cheeks reddening.  
  
Immediately he back away, smirking. "I found something that unnerves you, at least. Tonight at eight," he warned and then he left the bathroom.  
  
After he closed the door, Lin numbly dumped everything from her bag into the sink and tossed the gel bottle into the trash can, careful not to get any of the cement-like stuff on her hands. Then, mechanically, she began washing off anything that had been touched by the offensive gel.  
  
When she was through with her task, she finally put some lotion on her hands and escaped the bathroom.  
  
"I've got a date with Sage," she snarled when she got into the bedroom where her sisters were already waiting.  
  
"What!" Robyn gasped and stared at the redhead before her. If the wings, still stuck on her, had been real, she probably would have been flapping them in a combination of awe, excitement, amusement and other such states that Lin was definitely not feeling. "Are you feeling okay Lin? I could have sworn you hated him!"  
  
"I do!" Lin snapped. "But he wouldn't leave me alone!" She left out the fact that he'd had her pinned against the bathroom sink, and she especially left out that she had begun thinking it wasn't such a bad thing. "And he found out that I pulled those pranks, so it was the only way he'd not harp on me about it! God the guy knows how to hold a grudge and make you pay!"  
  
"My, my this is a turn of events," Robyn said, amazed. "Who'd have thought, Lin and Sage. Dating. Oiy! You work fast Lin! I didn't know you could be such a temptress!"  
  
"Birdie... piss off..."  
  
"Where and when?" she asked innocently and Lin wanted to slap her. "So when is the lucky night?"  
  
"Tonight. Thank God. I don't want to ruin my days dreading the day I have to date that.. that... jerk!"  
  
"You like him don't you?" Katrin asked and Lin whirled on her.  
  
"Are you crazy?! How could I like such a pig-headed, cock-sure, egotistical prick!"  
  
"Easy. He's hot," Katrin answered, grinning.  
  
"Hotness has nothing to do with a personality, and regardless of every sexy bone in his de-bitched body, I do not like him!"  
  
"Lin and Sage, sittin' in a tree!" Robyn started to sing but was slapped by a pillow, hastily grabbed and flung by the outraged redhead.  
  
"Can we just discuss what we were here to bloody discuss?!"  
  
"Did you say 'de-bitched'?" Katrin asked.  
  
Lin closed her eyes and counted to ten.  
  
Cye looked over as Sage stepped out onto the back porch with an extremely smug look on his face. The Ronin of Trust sat up a bit.  
  
"What's that look about?" he asked.  
  
"I've got a date with Lin," Sage said in a calm manner that belied the smugness that showed in his visible eye.  
  
"But I thought she didn't like you?" Cye asked, confused.  
  
"She does. She just doesn't want to admit it."  
  
"Are you so sure? Sage, you might be in over your head."  
  
"It'll be fine. I'll take her out for dinner, maybe some dancing." The Ronin of Wisdom sure as hell wasn't being wise at the moment, and Cye's brow drew down in concern.  
  
"It wouldn't be very good if either of you got hurt. Just because you like her, Sage, doesn't mean she likes you, whether you want to admit it or not."  
  
Sage nodded. "Good words, Cye. But I have a feeling where she's concerned."  
  
"You always have a feeling where girls are concerned," the Brit muttered.  
  
"Well, considering-"  
  
Whatever he had been about to say was cut short as a loud explosion shook the earth.  
  
Lin, Katrin and Robyn all jumped from their seats on the floor of the bedroom, where they'd all been trying to concentrate, when the explosion sounded.  
  
"Robyn, sometimes I hate it when you're right," Katrin mumbled as they made a hurried exit and headed down stairs.  
  
"So do I, Kitty."  
  
Lin's breath hitched as they came to the door that led from the kitchen to the back porch, and her grip on her travel potions tightened. Outside, they could see the nine warriors and White Blaze, standing in a semi-circle and facing what looked like a hugely muscular man with dirty blond hair. Aside from his huge stature, he didn't seem like he'd be all that powerful.  
  
"Kaiden," Robyn whispered beside her and Lin looked over. "That's got to be him. Look at that sword."  
  
Lin looked over, but couldn't see anything.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Don't you see it?" Robyn asked. "It's glowing..." Lin knew that Robyn was seeing the unseen with her special sight, what wasn't contained by her cards. "They can't take him. He's much too strong, even against all of them."  
  
"Should we help them?" Katrin asked.  
  
"I don't think we can," Robyn whispered. "We won't have to." She rubbed at her temples. "I hate this... Something... he's here for something..."  
  
"Look at your cards..." Lin urged gently. Sometimes when Robyn got a vision, she didn't think to use her cards to lessen the pain.  
  
She conjured the red card and peered into it. Her gray eyes widened and she almost dropped the card.  
  
"He's here for me... but..."  
  
And as if those words were the detonator for a bomb, the glass of the door was shattered as another explosion shook the earth. Screaming, Katrin and Lin both dove out of the way, but Robyn must have used her powers, because the glass swerved around her, missing her completely. She then flicked her wrist and the glass reformed and melted together in a long spear of sorts and she hurtled at Kaiden's form.  
  
"Hey! Back off buddy!" Ryo yelled. "Your fight's with us!" His eyes widened as he watched the glass spear fly past him, aimed for Kaiden. Where the hell had that come from?!  
  
"I am not here to fight with you. I'm here for the Angel." Kaiden's voice was monotone, as if he didn't really have much of anything for a personality, or emotions for that matter.  
  
"Heh." Kentoe smirked. "You've got the wrong address, bud. This ain't exactly heaven!"  
  
"The location is correct." Kaiden let loose another of his little explosions, enough to throw the Ronins off their feet.  
  
"That's it!" Ryo yelled. "Flare-"  
  
Kaiden leapt forward with a speed that belied his bulk, and what looked like blackish tentacles shot out of an area in his back, and the long lengths sped ahead of him, aiming straight for Robyn. Sage, no-datchi handy, leapt as well and brought the blade down on a number of the writhing masses, but the moment his blade cut through them, they disappeared and were replaced with the same number. Following Sage's example the other warriors began hacking away at the lengths of flesh.  
  
Ryo swung his sure kill in the other direction, following Kaiden, hoping Robyn knew enough about his sure kill to get out of the way.  
  
"-Up-!"  
  
Robyn didn't look like she was moving and Lin and Katrin had gotten to their feet when the tentacles shot inside the kitchen and wrapped around an unresisting Robyn, who was then lifted from her feet while the other two were knocked aside.  
  
"-NOW!" Ryo finished.  
  
What should have been an inferno of flame did not appear, and Ryo stood dumfounded as Kaiden stilled, staring at the girl he was holding, not minding the tentacles that were being wildly severed behind him as the Ronins fought to get nearer to Robyn.  
  
Ryo's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he noticed something different about the girl, a sort of calmness she had rarely displayed in the few days he and his friends had known her. It was almost as if she wanted to be taken away.  
  
But not before she got the last word in.  
  
The flame previously not coming at his call suddenly appeared, smaller, but feeling hundreds of times more powerful. It shot from his armor, echoing his earlier cry and something else, a screaming noise that he couldn't place. And it shot at Kaiden's back and pierced him moments before he disappeared, Robyn and all, leaving behind only a ball of red light that began floating away to an unknown point. Kayura, staff in hand, stepped forward and tried to control it with the power of the staff, but to no avail. The ball was much to powerful as it became brighter and brighter.  
  
"Robyn!" Lin shrieked from inside the kitchen as she sailed out the door and headed towards the light. God, she could feel Robyn's spirit becoming weaker, fading out of the world. An empty spot had opened up inside her and was steadily growing larger as the ball of light got brighter. She knew Robyn was leaving this world for another, but she had to stop it! She had to save her sister!  
  
A hand grabbed her and held her back and she kicked and bit and struggled with someone's green armored hands. No! They couldn't hold her back! She had to reach Robyn! Without thinking, she reached into her pack and snatched up a bottle, which turned out to be one of her defense potions, and shattered it over her captor's hands.  
  
Sage froze, quite literally, as the freezing liquid spread across him quickly and turned him in to a block of ice. The expression on his face normally would have pleased her, but it only made her realize with more certainty that their cover was blown. His face was frozen in an expression of amazement and something that looked like protectiveness. Then his statue form fell over and landed in the soft grass. Lin, breathing harshly, felt her sister completely leave the world and fell down to her knees and gripped her stomach. She was going to be sick. ***************************************************************************  
  
Hello readers. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was pretty long, the longest yet! But, anyway, yeah, please review!  
  
Oh! And my Fan Art site is ready for submission! You can find the URL on my bio-Page! Toodles!  
  
-Gray 


	8. Losing Robyn & What's the Title of an It...

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, are mine. Blah.  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
Chapter 8 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Less than a moment had passed before the other Ronins had Lin surrounded. She barely noticed past the horror of what she had done to Sage. Her defense potions had been made for times of sheer danger- so she'd never used them before- not for times of emotional upheaval.  
  
"What the hell did you do to him!" Ryo yelled at her.  
  
"Oh God, I'm sorry," she whispered brokenly, on the verge of tears. "I didn't mean to-"  
  
"Just what the hell are you anyway?" Rowen asked snidely as he and Kentoe moved to life the frozen block of Sage. Lin winced at the tone and avoided their eyes. "Some kinda witch?"  
  
"Not exactly," she mumbled.  
  
"Well just what 'exactly' are you, then?" Ryo snapped.  
  
She shrugged. Robyn had never really explained what they were outside of sisters. There had been the comment about her not liking the word "witch" since it sounded kind of mean, but other than that, there had never been any discussion over what they were.  
  
Ryo tried using his armor to melt the ice from Sage's form, but the magical substance was stubborn and only seemed to frost over more. Lin, wanting to make amends, reached for her bag, but stopped when she received suspicious glares from the majority of the others.  
  
"I'm just going to turn him back," she explained softly as she pulled out the vial that could be what she willed it to be. Right then, it would be something to thaw out Sage.  
  
A few drops at the frozen Ronin's feet were all it took before it started to work. The potion spread like wildfire and covered his whole frozen person before the ice started to crack and break away.  
  
Sage gasped as the warm air hit him and oxygen slammed into his lungs. He seemed to be okay after the potion began working to warm his skin. He willed away his armor and gratefully let Rowen and Kentoe hold him up. He was staring at Lin, his eyes shining with a mixture of emotions she didn't feel like identifying. So she looked away and saw Katrin sitting a few yards away, crying and being consoled by Cye. Lin felt a moment of hope. Cye, Robyn had told her, was the Ronin of Trust. Surely they had an ally in him; surely he could see they meant no harm.  
  
"Where did he take her? What's going to happen to Robyn?" she asked brokenly, the first of her tears making paths down her cheeks. Her heart felt empty where Robyn's connection had been. It hurt to think that her sister's link with her might never be restored.  
  
"We don't know," Kayura said, coming to crouch in front of her. "Lin, why did you hide this from us?"  
  
"Robyn said we should."  
  
"We? You all can do this?" Kayura asked, surprised.  
  
"No," Katrin said, finally coming up with Cye beside her, tear tracks drying on her cheeks. "Lin's good with potions and I can conjure things. Robyn can do both and more." Her voice was soft, kind of achy, because, Lin knew, she was feeling the same thing Lin did: emptiness.  
  
They turned to Katrin. "So you've all had this and not told us?" Ryo cried, outraged. "You could have been helping us a little bit ago-"  
  
"You didn't even need help!" Katrin yelled. "He wasn't even fighting you! He was after Robyn and that's it!"  
  
"How do you know he was just after her!" Kale yelled. "Why didn't you tell us!"  
  
"We didn't know until just before it happened," Lin said unhappily. "Robyn told us he was after her and-"  
  
"You let it happen," Kentoe finished snidely.  
  
"She did! She let it happen! If I had known before she did I wouldn't have let her near that damn door!" Lin yelled, shooting to her feet. "She knows things, Kentoe, that you would never comprehend!" She sighed. "She has foresight and she put it and two other powers into some cards. She used the card of feeling and knew Kaiden was after her."  
  
"Then why did she let this happen!" Mia cried. This was the first Lin or Katrin even noticed her there. "If she knew what he was thinking, she could have done something, surely!"  
  
"She saw something else," Katrin explained. "Something important, but she didn't get a chance to tell us what it was. It made her give in."  
  
"That really helps," Wildfire muttered. "Then what happened to my sure kill?" Ryo asked vehemently. Lin was getting pissed at his continuous attitude towards her and Lin.  
  
"Robyn manipulated it," Katrin answered.  
  
"Oh, so now she can control our armors!" Kentoe bellowed.  
  
"No. She just controlled the flame. She's got elemental powers." She really wanted to hit one of them.  
  
"Can we stop with the yelling?" Cye asked gently. "It's not getting us anywhere. Besides, we really should get Sage inside." Sage, meanwhile, had been silent through the whole exchange, staring at Lin and shivering.  
  
"Not to mention I'm getting a headache," the blonde said softly. "I don't know about you guys, but I trust them, and yelling at them isn't going to help." The Ronin of Wisdom was actually being wise at the moment! "Anything they can do might help us get to the bottom of things."  
  
Lin looked down, avoiding anybody's eyes. She'd been counting on Cye, more than anything, to come to their defense; she'd expected Sage to be the one to hate them the most.  
  
"How do you know that they can be trusted?" Ryo asked stubbornly.  
  
"Because Robyn was right when she said my sword has a soul." Shivering, Sage continued. "Quite frankly, if my sword's soul says they can be trusted, I believe we can trust them." His piece said, he began limping towards the house; his joints were still slightly frozen and the potion was only working on the surface. Rowen ran up to help the blonde warrior along and slowly everybody else followed.  
  
Later that day, after a slightly calmer interrogation, Lin was parked outside on the dock, dipping her feet into the cool water of the pond behind Mia's house. It was pretty warm outside and a swim would have been heavenly to relieve any sort of stress, but the stress she was carrying would have sunk her like a rock.  
  
She sighed. She hoped Robyn was okay. After that move she pulled on Kaiden with Ryo's sure kill, she wished she could know what had become of the huge guy, whether it had actually hurt him or not. She hoped it had hurt him.  
  
"Hey." She jumped when she heard the voice and swiveled sharply so she could see Sage, who was standing behind her.  
  
"Oh. It's you." She turned back around.  
  
"Yeah, it's me." Uninvited, he sat down next to her.  
  
He was the last person she wanted to see. Aside from messing with his hair gel and spicing up his floss, she had never wanted to really harm him. Okay, that was a lie; she had wanted to harm him on several occasions, but she never would have gone through with the wants. She felt like slime for using one of her stronger defense potions on him without just cause. He'd only been trying to keep her away from Kaiden.  
  
Sighing, she stared down at the water and let the burning need to apologize wash over her.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said softly, refusing to look at him.  
  
"For what?" he asked just as softly.  
  
"For... everything... The ice... your gel... Everything."  
  
"Why are you apologizing?"  
  
"Because I had no right to do those things to you." It was easier than she thought it would be. She felt a burden being lifted from her chest. "I especially had no right to use that ice potion on you. I didn't mean to, really. It just happened. I- I wanted to get to Robyn and-" she stopped blabbering when his hand came to rest on her shoulder and she had the sudden fear that he might tell her he'd forgive her only if she did something. Slowly she looked over at him.  
  
He wasn't smiling at her, but she didn't get any sort of threatening feel from him. She suddenly had to fight to remember why it was she'd pulled her little pranks on him; then it finally came to her that she'd thought him an egotistical flirt. She wondered if that were really true.  
  
"I know you didn't mean to use that potion on me," he assured her. "I know that you wanted to get to her. I don't mean to sound like I was trying to let Kaiden get away with Robyn, but I wanted to keep you away from him. I didn't want anything to happen to you."  
  
Lin drew her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. She wasn't sure what to say to that. It was almost easier to hate him. "Why are you being so nice about this?"  
  
"What, and give you another reason to pull a prank on me?" He was chuckling as he said this and Lin winced. He noticed and sobered. "I'm sorry; that was cruel of me."  
  
"I don't know. I guess I expected you to hate me or something."  
  
"Or something." He smiled. "Those words hold a lot of possibilities. I feel a lot of things for you and hatred is not one of them."  
  
Lin couldn't help it, and for the first time since Robyn had been taken, she smiled a bit.  
  
And then she started crying and Sage wrapped his arms around her.  
  
*Lasheen's Place  
  
Robyn was dropped, rather unceremoniously, on a cold stone floor once Kaiden finally appeared somewhere. It had seemed like forever since he'd grabbed her and left the Ronin world with her.  
  
She rolled to her stomach and then sprang to her feet. She was in some sort of stone room, probably in a castle by the looks of it, but there were no windows to tell her, only a single wooden door. She glanced around a bit before backing towards the farthest wall and glaring at Kaiden.  
  
He didn't seem to even notice her and she stared at his back. Ryo's sure kill, which she'd manipulated, had left a nice burnt field of flesh on his back. However, her smug feeling of success dissipated as his back slowly began healing over, leaving only clear, smooth skin. She "grumphed" and crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"So you're the bad guy, huh? Not much of one. Or are you just a lackey?"  
  
"I am Kaiden the Hunter," he said monotonously. She rolled her eyes.  
  
"Wow. I'm dazzled. So where the hell am I?"  
  
"You are where the Overseer wishes."  
  
"God you're boring," she muttered. She decided to quite playing games and flicked her wrist a bit, willing a ball of flame to appear so she could knock him out, destroy the door and get the hell out of there so she could complete a certain self-appointed task.  
  
"What the fook?" she looked at her hand and flicked her wrist again. Nothing. She tried again, and again, and again, and then finally it hit her.  
  
She could feel a heavy source of power somewhere nearby and it was smothering her magic to bits. She wondered why she hadn't felt it before, when it occurred to her that it was fading away. -Hmm. Must only be able to feel it when I try to use my powers,-she thought. -But I wonder if it will do that to my cards?-  
  
To test it, she called up one of her cards, the card of feelings and peered into it, willing it to show her Kaiden's mind. When it came up, she breathed a sigh of relief. It must be that only regular powers could be blocked, not her special ones. She saw again what she had viewed earlier and winced at the vision. Then she put the card away before Kaiden finally turned around or something.  
  
He was a pretty boring person, quite the opposite of what she'd thought up. She'd figured him for a great warrior with a bad attitude and a feather stuck up his ass for his master. She'd thought he would fit behind the picture of a poison edged sword, when really, his huge glowing sword looked almost... pure, and he looked simple, if huge. He was so monotonous, hardly the type to fit in with mean-spirited bad guys.  
  
-Quite stereotyping, Bird,- she admonished to herself.  
  
But then again, he was a bad guy, and that made him fair-game for pity and attempts to pull him to the side of good!  
  
"So why'd your Overseer ask you to kidnap me?"  
  
"For a reason."  
  
"What reason."  
  
"One of them."  
  
"Okay, so if I asked you to shove a feather up your ass and move it around, would it tickle?"  
  
He didn't say anything.  
  
"The Overseer calls," he said after a moment's silence and he opened the door. Robyn figured it would do no good to try and run at the door- who wanted to get a face full of wood slammed in their face?- so she stayed where he was. He stepped through and closed it. Immediately after the door disappeared.  
  
She felt like a dumbass. She should have run at the door! While it still existed!  
  
"Grumph," she muttered and began pacing.  
  
"Okay, let's see. Special powers, special powers. Foresight, Feeling, Past... Zoning... Hmmm. I wonder if that would work. That's not really a power so it might be a moot point. Although, my Blessed Realm isn't exactly a regular realm of meditation." She went on and on, talking to herself and on her last path, she ran smack into something.  
  
Kaiden's solid chest blocked her path.  
  
"Do you mind? I was pacing."  
  
"The Overseer wishes to see you."  
  
"Joy. Now I get to meet Mr. I. M. TheMan." She rolled her eyes and followed him. She hadn't been able to get a clear view of the "Overseer" so she didn't know what the hell he looked like. In fact, it seemed that Kaiden had never once laid eyes on the big guy's face.  
  
"So what's he going for? World takeover? Multiple World takeover? Planetary Bitch-er-ization? He's just a huge pimp isn't he? He's got hoes lined up all over the world to start a huge global bitch-ery. I bet they've been masked and spy on us all, planning to turn us into obedient little bitches by examining our every move and devising strategies of molestation." She was quite for a moment as she thought. "I wonder what tools the hoes would use on us for their evil, questioning probe-ish-ness. Did you know, there's a lot of different-"  
  
"Silence," he said shortly.  
  
"-little gadgets out there you can use for sexual torture and other such things that have ANYTHING to do with the little three-letter 's'-word that starts with 's', ends with 'x' and has an 'e' in the middle?" Innocently she peeked up at him. They'd paused and he was staring at her with a weird... bored look in his eyes.  
  
"Are you finished?"  
  
She stood there in silence for a moment.  
  
"Yup." She nodded and they continued.  
  
"Why'm I not chained or something?"  
  
"The Overseer did not request it."  
  
"Okay then. And if I were to run?"  
  
He didn't answer and she didn't try it.  
  
Finally they came up to the door and he opened it for her. She passed through with a bounce to her step and he closed the door behind her.  
  
The room was dark and she peered around for any sign of life in the spacious place. There was nicely formed... throne- there was no other world for it- on the far wall, and on one of the arms rested a crystal ball. There was a long table pushed to the side, and it was ornately carved and thick. It looked old too. There were a few tapestries on the walls, no windows and all and all, the place looked completely barren.  
  
"Hello," came a pleasantly husky voice, and she turned in surprise. The voice sounded slightly feminine, but also masculine, and it kind of fit the being that stood before her.  
  
Long white hair, gray eyes, a body that was slim and willowy. She didn't seen anything that would make the being a female, but she didn't seen any signs in its face that it was male.  
  
-Looks like Mr. I. M. TheMan has become I. M. TheIt. Lacking a Mr. I wonder if they have a title like Mr. or Mrs. for Its? Mistits? Mst.? This merits pondering.- Feeling just a tad bit weird, she faced the being with curiosity. She also sensed something familiar about the being, but she just couldn't place her finger on it. It was as if her memory was purposely packing its bags, hopping a flight to Timbuktu, and avoiding her like the plague.  
  
"The Overseer, I'm guessing."  
  
"Yes. I'm very pleased to meet you, Angel."  
  
Robyn's eyebrows shot up. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not an angel, that's for sure."  
  
"On the contrary, a few people think you're an Angel." The voice creeped her out and a chill went up her spine.  
  
"Like who?" she asked coolly.  
  
"Myself for instance... but that's only because I've heard you referred to as one so many times, it's stuck."  
  
"Anyone else?"  
  
"Kaiden. He's so simple-minded, really." The being's hand waved in the air dismissively. "I bet you wonder why you're here?"  
  
"Among other things." Robyn tapped her foot impatiently. "You know, for being dubbed the bad... person, you're not quite what I expected." 'What' certainly was an understatement.  
  
"That's flattering," the being whispered and slid smoothly across the room. Robyn stiffened as the Overseer passed her and headed for the throne. Gracefully, it sat down and leaned back. It placed it's hand on the crystal ball and played it's fingers over the sphere lovingly.  
  
"I have you here for a few reasons. Taking over that silly little Mortal Realm is only one of them, but it's not really my biggest concern at the moment. You have something I want."  
  
Robyn crossed her arms over her chest. "Wow. You've really got your priorities straight, haven't you."  
  
"Hmm, indeed."  
  
"So what do I have that you want?" Robyn asked smoothly.  
  
"Let's just say that it's something I can't get until I take on the form of one Gray-Eyed Angel."  
  
Robyn blinked. "Okay then. So that means what to me?"  
  
"I'm going to steal your body and put you in this shell that I own."  
  
"Alrighty then. Unfortunately, that doesn't conform to my schedule for the next few bajillion years. I just don't have any time on it for body- snatching, so if I could just fit you in on the triple-bajillionth June on the second Tuesday, for about two in the afternoon, that'd be great."  
  
"You've a very disagreeable attitude."  
  
"I wonder why," Robyn replied dryly.  
  
"But since I'm in such a good mood," the being stood. "I've decided to show you just what it is that I want, that you can give me."  
  
The being picked up the crystal ball and tossed it to Robyn, who caught it clumsily and stared into its depths.  
  
Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of Anubis, writhing on the floor in pain as some invisible energy licked at his naked skin. He looked like he was being torn from the inside out.  
  
"Anubis," she whispered. When she'd seen him in Kaiden's thoughts, he'd seemed perfectly fine. In the vision before her, he was nude, pained, and appeared malnourished.  
  
"Yes, it's quite unfortunate. But look closer and you'll see what he's dreaming of."  
  
Angrily she did, and was shocked to see a vision of herself, lying on crimson sheets with a pair of fluffy white wings on her back, wearing a nightgown and looking for all the world like a gray eyed angel.  
  
"So you think that if you become me, you'll get Anubis?"  
  
"Exactly. You see, though I myself can claim that title-" suddenly a pair of huge white wings sprung from its back and Robyn jumped a little, "-he doesn't see me as his vision of salvation, his link to something outside of his pain. You are what he dreams of, and I must admit that I'm jealous." The beings closed it's eyes, and when they opened they were changing to something akin to melted silver. "I'm not pretty when I'm jealous."  
  
"You're not pretty anyway, so don't worry about it." The being was beautiful, but its aura was slimy with greed and lust and Robyn was disgusted.  
  
"So if you'll excuse me, I'll just be on my way," she said snidely, but a slender albeit strong hand reached out and gripped her shoulder.  
  
Without thinking, Robyn cried out her rage and swung her fist back.  
  
Anubis's pain stopped suddenly and he wondered why. He hadn't been under for more than a few hours when it suddenly paused. This was unusual to him. He hoped Lasheen was through with his sick little games. Doubtful, but a man could hope, couldn't he?  
  
He started violently when a door appeared on the wall and was thrown open.  
  
"Dunno how, but I did it. Let's get your poor, redheaded, buck naked and quite fine ass outta here!" His vision was a bit blurry and all he could see was a blondish head of hair as someone leaned over his prone body. It was female. Her voice was pleasantly husky, with a strange drawl to it. He wondered who she was.  
  
"'Nubis, you're as light as a feather!" she cried as she lifted him up after throwing something- some piece of cloth- around his hips and tied it tight. "God, when I get you home you're not leaving the kitchen till you're stuffed like a Thanksgiving Tom!" She began hauling him out of the room and running down a long hall. She was pretty strong; then again, he was very light, but she was also huffing a bit after a few moments, her breathing strained.  
  
"I vow to start working out after this!" she wheezed as she rounded a bend. "Hell and Hellfire! A window! Yippers!" She was running towards a sudden spot of light and Anubis winced.  
  
"Okay. There's absolutely no freaking dag-blasted way I'm tossing you out that window. Then again, what choice have we? I'll toss myself out at the same time! There's water. Can you swim? Hell, I'll tow you." He felt wind, blessed wind, rushing around him before freezing water replaced that and took his breath away. Air again as the girl towed him upwards and they surfaced.  
  
He gasped as they broke surface and she cried out.  
  
"Shit! I dropped it!"  
  
What felt like a slimy tentacle reached around him and she screamed out rage as she pummeled the limb and stabbed it with something before it disappeared. Then she wrapped her arms tightly around Anubis and looked up at him. His vision was clearing and weakly he looked back.  
  
"Anubis, close your eyes and concentrate on what I'm telling you." She closed her own- there were beautiful gray- and he followed tiredly. "Imagine a world that is dark. There's a tree in the center of everything, old and twisted. It's branches are bare of life, but the tree is still alive. Tall grass waves around it's roots, which are massive, and fireflies glitter around the shoots of green. Stars are burning brightly in the night sky, and this world feels safe."  
  
And suddenly, he felt something open in side himself and a thought poured in.  
  
-*Anubis, I welcome you to my Blessed Realm. Here are souls are safe. Our bodies are left behind, but will return to us when I will it. Open your eyes.*-  
  
He did and stared down into the face of his salvation.  
  
**************************************************************************** *****  
  
Yeah, this chapter was kind of corny. I know you're probably wondering how the hell Robyn did what she did, but I'll tell you next chapter! Tee-hee!  
  
Oh, and please go to my bio-page and click on my home-page! I have no art up on my site and I'd really really reall 'preciate it if you'd take it into consideration? Pwease???  
  
Review! I beg of you!  
  
-Gray 


	9. How to Get Out

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, is mine. Blah. So yeah, if the people that DO own them would like to sell them for every thing that's in my pocket- fifty cents... NO Fifty-two cents! a stick of gum... some lint- I'd happily take them off their hands! **wink-wink, nudge-nudge** See! Special signal wink! Surrender to the subliminal wink! (Ooooh. I changed my disclaimer a bit!)  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
Chapter 9 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Robyn stared down at her latest Blessed Realm outfit and blinked. It was tad bit more revealing than most of the others she had worn in the past. It was a dress that flowed loosely down her body without any certain shape to it. It was almost like a nightgown with a neck cut down between her breasts, almost to her stomach. It was cinched at her waist with a silken green belt, and the sleeves were like billowing tents on her arms. The back was as low-cut as the front and her long blonde hair covered much of her exposed back. On her feet were a favored pair of green slippers that she almost always wore in her Blessed Realm.  
  
She looked over and caught Anubis staring at his surroundings in amazement. The night sky was so bright with stars it was almost daylight, and her cheeks reddened when she realized he was still unclothed. Of course he was! On her way into the Blessed Realm, she had failed to specify that he should be clad as well.  
  
A cool breeze blew past Anubis and he glanced down at himself, for the first time realizing that he was nude. And then he noticed that as the breeze went by, riding on it were strands of cloth that surrounded him and formed a set of robes so familiar to him that it almost pained him to look upon them. The robes he had worn in his roll as the Ancient. He had missed those robes in a way; they reminded him of his life before he had given it up to save another.  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"It's kind of a long story." Robyn picked at her finger nails as she settled herself on the root of the tree. Anubis eyed the tree warily. She was right to say that it appeared dead, but it was still alive; he could feel it. But its presence unnerved him.  
  
"Begin with your name then."  
  
"Bossy," she muttered as she sat up straighter. "My name's Robyn."  
  
"And how is it that you've brought us here?"  
  
"Some special powers of mine." She swung her legs back and forth like a child.  
  
"How do you know who I am?" Anubis finally moved under the umbrella the tree created and felt something akin to a feeling of safety wash over him.  
  
She started popping her knuckles. "Well, I'll try to make this short. I'm from another world than that of your friends, the Ronins. In my world, you all, including Talpa and all those bad guys and such, are part of a really cool cartoon show."  
  
"Cartoon show?" He'd once heard Yulie mention something about cartoons when they were battling against Talpa and he nodded a bit. "Yes. Those things in that box Mia has."  
  
"Exactly!" She grinned broadly, glad she didn't have to explain more than she had to.  
  
"That still doesn't explain how you came to be here."  
  
"Well, I don't really understand it myself. Just that I and two of my friends got pulled over here and we were staying with Mia and the guys and Kayura. Well, a little while ago, I got kidnapped by Kaiden, and I've little doubt that Lin and Katrin have already spilled our little secret. And now... we're here. In the Blessed Realm!" She jumped off the root and came to stand in front of him.  
  
"Now aside from that, are you okay?" She had a genuinely worried look on her face, but Anubis really didn't want her to change to subject.  
  
"Tell me of these powers you possess." He took a step to the side and walked as if to look at the sky.  
  
"Not much. Magic. Foresight. My meditative skills are pretty complex- I created this place after all."  
  
"That's another thing. How are we here? How is it that I feel no pain as I did in Lasheen's cell?"  
  
"That thing has a name?" she asked, disgusted. "Nasty." She took a deep breath. "Well, I mixed meditation with some of my magic and created this place. I call it the Blessed Realm for bizarre reason. The reason that we are here is that... Lasheen... was smothering my magic somehow, aside from a few special things, and this is the only thing I could think of to get us out of there in a flash. Well, this place is connected with my magic, but it was also predominately a meditative aspect, so I had no problem getting in here. And I brought you along for the ride. Like I said earlier, our bodies were left behind. These are... I guess the representations of our souls." She spoke rather quickly and things kind of came out in a jumble, but Anubis wasn't sure he wanted her to explain it anymore.  
  
"Meditation. Strange. I was never able to meditate the whole time I was there." He thought for a while. "How did you escape?"  
  
She giggled a bit at that one. "Quite fun. You know that stupid crystal ball... it has on it's chair arm? By "it" I mean Lasheen, 'cause it's definitely not a guy or a girl. Anyway, Lasheen handed me the ball so I could get a look at you and forgot to take it back. Then it said something about 'body snatching' and the like and touched me." She shuddered. "It touched me on the shoulder. I've got to remember do disinfect that shoulder later." She composed herself again. "Anyway, that thing's pretty frail, physically, and I punched it and knocked it out. Did you know that that little ball is how Lasheen controls Kaiden? While it was in my hands, Kaiden didn't follow us... I dropped it in that damned lake. That could have been useful too! Grumph." She pouted a bit and Anubis wondered what the hell was wrong with the girl before him.  
  
"So how does our being in this... Blessed Realm, as you call it, aide our escape back to the mortal realm?"  
  
"Honestly?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Hell if I know."  
  
Anubis felt a twitch starting under his eye.  
  
"I sort of have a plan. Wanna hear it?" She hopped back up on a root and started before he could answer. "I was thinking that maybe I could transfer the essence of Lasheen's physical world into this realm and traverse it that way until we found a doorway or something. In Lasheen's world- maybe- our spirits would be traveling about unaided by our bodies."  
  
"And how would you do this?"  
  
She stayed silent for a moment.  
  
"I dunno."  
  
The twitch got bigger.  
  
Mortal Realm (Dun dun-dun dun!)  
  
Ryo watched intently as the two suddenly non-powerless girls sat out on the back deck, talking quietly. He was in the kitchen sitting at the table with Mia and White Blaze, discussing a few things.  
  
"Ryo, just staring at them like they're going to sprout new heads isn't going to help anything," Mia said gently from beside him and he turned his head back to her, smiling sheepishly.  
  
"Can't help it. It's just weird that we've all just instantly come to trust them."  
  
"I know." Mia smiled. "But it's hard not to do. They're such nice girls. And you can't really blame them for not telling us."  
  
"But Mia, they knew we had armors. Them having powers is nearly the same thing and-"  
  
"But do you think you'd have accepted them any faster had they told you sooner?" Mia was propping her head on her hand and for the bazillionth time, Ryo noticed how her new hair style framed her face so nicely. He fought a blush.  
  
"Probably not."  
  
"You see? It doesn't matter any more." She stood and went to the fridge to grab a couple of sodas. She handed one to him and took her seat again. "What does matter is finding a way to get Robyn back from Kaiden and finding out just what he wants. Besides that, Lin and Katrin said Robyn was their teacher, and if she's powerful enough to be a teacher, she could very well be a valuable ally."  
  
Ryo was amazed that Mia could always be so calm during situations like the one they were in at the moment. She almost never panicked and it was such an endearing trait he couldn't help but let his thoughts wonder for a moment.  
  
"Ryo?" He snapped out of it and blushed when he realized she was repeating his name and staring at him with concern.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah. Just spacing out." He stood and walked over to the kitchen window. It was nearly sunset and Lin and Katrin were still talking, about what, he couldn't say, but he guessed their words probably concerned Robyn.  
  
He took a deep breath and sighed. It was moments like this when he wished with all his might things could be different. They'd had peace for a while and then this. He wished that things had ended completely after the Warlords and Kayura crossed to the side of good, that he could have retired his armor.  
  
It seemed like things were just coming unglued around him. He felt helpless. Kaiden was like a rock; he had no visible weaknesses and their blows just glanced off him like they were nothing. He had no idea why things were happening. Kayura had tried to find out, but even the staff and the Ancients' spirits were silent. He had no idea what he was facing, and he wished things could be different.  
  
His deepest wish was that he could finally confess a few things to Mia.  
  
Before he got deeper into his thoughts, Lin and Katrin opened the sliding glass door and stepped past him. The looked a bit uncertain as they walked in.  
  
"Sage meditates doesn't he? And Kayura?" Lin asked.  
  
"Yes." Mia stood. "All the guys do, but those two are the most serious about it."  
  
"We have an idea." Katrin had her arms crossed over her stomach and she looked hesitant. "Do you think, if we asked, they would help us try to contact Robyn?"  
  
Ryo thought about it. They'd told him of their connection to their "older sister" as they called Robyn.  
  
"Sure. I don't see why not." Mia nodded when he said this.  
  
"At the moment it seems like it's the only chance we've got outside of waiting."  
  
Outside, Katrin and Lin had been discussing what they could do. The only thing they'd been able to come up with was contacting Robyn through meditation. They'd already tried telepathy, but it hadn't worked; they couldn't feel her. The only thing they could think of was something deeper. They were going to try and enter her Blessed Realm.  
  
They'd both been there before, but it was at her invitation. That's the only way anybody could get in there, by her permission. They didn't know if they just needed to knock, or if they could even reach her since they couldn't feel her. Despite the empty feeling they got where her link once was, they knew something still had to be there.  
  
First though, they needed to meditate, and they were horrible at meditating.  
  
Lin watched as Sage and Kayura entered the room. Her eyes stayed glued on Sage for a moment before dropping away as she hid everything behind her mask. The day before she'd managed to humiliate herself by breaking down in front of him and before that, she'd actually apologized! She'd meant the apologies, sure, but she still couldn't believe that she'd gone through with them. What did that do for the reputation she presented?!  
  
"We need to ask you a favor," she said calmly once they stood before her and Katrin. "We need to learn how to meditate, and fast."  
  
Sage's eyebrow rose as he took in the firmly placed mask that covered the emotions of the willowy redhead before him. A little bit of anger welled up inside of him as he thought about the day before. He'd finally thought he was getting somewhere with her, and now she was back to square one.  
  
"I don't think there will be a problem with that," he said coolly. "Why do you suddenly feel the urge to learn?"  
  
"Because it's the only thing we can think of that might help us get Robyn back," Katrin said softly.  
  
"The telepathy didn't work-" Kayura started to say but Lin interrupted.  
  
"The telepathy was a result of our link. We don't know yet if meditation would be part of that link for what we have in mind." She went on to briefly describe the Blessed Realm and that they might be able to get to her that way.  
  
"So if we just tap at her door or something, we might get her to answer," Katrin said, wringing her hands desperately. "Please!"  
  
"Okay." Sage looked outside, noting how dark it was. "It's easier outside. I hope you like the dark." He and Kayura led the two girls outside and onto the soft grass of the backyard.  
  
They sort of gathered into a circle and sat in the grass. Katrin and Lin sat patiently as Kayura and Sage explained breathing and posture and other such stuff. When they were through yapping, they started.  
  
Lin took a deep breath and despite their instructions on posture, she found herself relaxing way too much and slumping a bit. She couldn't help it. When she had watched Robyn meditate in the past, she was always in some weird position or another, and she supposed she had copied the habit without realizing it.  
  
She breathed deeply and let herself relax even more.  
  
Katrin was having the same problem as Lin. She wasn't following the precise instructions Sage and Kayura had given, and simply felt like she was falling into slumber. Then she had problems keeping her eyes closed. Every little sound made her crack them open a bit. Then she just gave up and opened them fully. She watched Sage and Kayura. They, of course, were having no problem at all, sitting in what looked like practiced and painful positions. She knew she ought to copy those positions for the sake of Robyn, but she couldn't help it. She figured it wouldn't hurt to break the rules and go by Robyn's standards.  
  
She looked over at Lin, who had the same idea and they scooted so they were back to back, leaning against each other comfortably, breathing deeply.  
  
"Do you think it will work?" she asked softly. Sage and Kayura didn't seem to notice.  
  
"I hope so," Lin whispered. "I don't see why it shouldn't."  
  
"Do you wanna try it Birdie style?"  
  
"Sure." Lin untucked her legs and straightened them out on the ground. "What's Birdie style though? She just does whatever. She could be sitting on the toilet and start zoning."  
  
Katrin let a little giggle slip and then relaxed even more. "We're not even trying."  
  
"Nope." Lin yawned and stretched. "You don't have to when you zone. That's always what Birdie says."  
  
"Yeah." She sighed and stretched as well. Then she glanced up at the moon. "The Blessed Realm doesn't have a moon, does it."  
  
"No. Just the stars. You know how she is about the stars."  
  
"Yeah. I'm all for the moon. She's for the stars. You're for the sun." Katrin felt something slipping inside her. "The tree though. That thing was so... peaceful." She felt her vision start glazing over.  
  
Lin felt the same thing. "Yeah. I never have figured out what kind it was. It was like a million trees put together." Her vision was getting a bit foggy. "Kitty?"  
  
"Yeah Weasel?"  
  
"I think we're zoning."  
  
"I know." And then they just kind of froze in that position, their eyes remaining open for a while before they finally shut of their own will.  
  
A small breeze blew by after a while, and Sage decided he'd better check on his two pupils. When he opened his eyes, he scowled when he found the two girls sleeping with their backs together.  
  
However, closer inspection made him realize two things.  
  
One, they were, in fact, meditating.  
  
And two, they weren't breathing.  
  
He reached over in alarm and felt Lin's neck; a faint pulse met his fingers, but her skin was so cold. It was as if she was a vegetable. Like her soul was gone. He shook her, and nothing happened. He did the same to Katrin and found her the same. They were like to rag dolls with heart beats.  
  
"Kayura!" She snapped out of her state of calm and was soon trying as hard as she could to wake the two girls, but to no avail. They would not snap out of it! She willed the staff to her side and the moment she wrapped her fingers around it, it began clanging wildly. She stared up at it as it began glowing brightly. Something like a wall of light began spreading out from the top of it, catching Sage and herself under its glow. And then she was falling, they both were.  
  
Then, blackness.  
  
Back to Anubis And Robby  
  
"Some plan," Robyn berated herself. She'd tried as hard as she could to actually do what she'd thought up- the whole traversing Lasheen's world as floaty-soul thingies. Hah.  
  
She grumbled and called down a star. She held it in her hand and tossed it around.  
  
"I feel like a moron now," she muttered.  
  
"So you've said many times now," Anubis said from beside her on the ground. She was propped up on a root again. Her constant complaints about her little plan not working had been annoying since she'd first opened her mouth to utter the first words. "So what do you have in mind now?"  
  
"I don't know." She tossed the star back up in the sky.  
  
"Great," he said snidely. She really was an annoying girl.  
  
"Hey, I never said it would work," she snapped.  
  
"I never said I expected it to. However, your constant complaining leads me to believe you really thought it might have. It didn't though. Kindly get over it."  
  
Robyn snapped her mouth shut and glared at him. Prissy, bitchy redhead. She was aggravated and the fact that she couldn't complain without being snapped on by a certain ex-warlord was really adding to the feeling of aggravation.  
  
"Well excuse me if maybe I did think it would work. Excuse me if I'm the only one who thought of anything to do about this situation!"  
  
"Need I point out that I hardly have any idea as to the situation at hand and that I am not responsible for our being in this realm! You are the one who can get us out!"  
  
Robyn growled petulantly and grabbed another star out of the sky. She resumed her tossing and pondered.  
  
She wanted to cry right then. Secretly, Anubis was her favorite character in the whole wide world, absolutely gorgeous, and she'd love to grab on with both hands- she wouldn't say where- and run for the door. Then when she thought about it, she blanched.  
  
Was it possible that she was thinking like a Mary-Sue? Was she hoping for the instant love that came with the title MS, love that was offered by the hottest and most beloved male characters to the MS who was absolutely perfect in every way including beauty, brains, and body?  
  
"Ewwwww," she shuddered. "I cannot be a Mary-Sue!" Maybe if she said that enough times, it would be true. She wasn't sure what she was at the moment.  
  
"What's wrong now? Having more problems with your supposed powers?" Anubis asked darkly.  
  
"Piss off," she snapped. She couldn't help it. On screen, she absolutely adored the guy; face-to-face, she found herself nervous and unable to stand him. Grrr.  
  
Robyn continued her tossing, up until the moment she felt something knocking at her head.  
  
"What in the name of the Naked Arabic Monkeys?" she muttered. "And Holy," she added for good measure.  
  
"What is-"  
  
"Swiffer!" she squeaked, slapping her hand down over his mouth. "Hush red!" She stood up on her perch and reached up into the sky. The stars began falling at her command, much like her vision from a few days before, and the fireflies came as well, bundling closely around them.  
  
"Don't step outside the tree," she warned once before she prepared for a possible onslaught against her Blessed Realm. "Enter," she commanded softly. She wasn't sure if whomever was asking entrance was doing so in favor of destroying the Blessed Realm or for something beneficial to Robyn. So she would let them enter while she was on guard.  
  
Something about it felt familiar, felt like it was feeling something up inside her. Her eyebrows rose in surprise as a picture began forming before her, and she squeaked loudly as familiar faces popped up.  
  
"WEASEL! KITTY! HOW THE HELL!" she screamed as her two sisters, Sage, and Kayura suddenly appeared before her.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Mwahahaha. Finished! The chapter is complete! Hoo-rah! Lalalala. This one took me a while to get into. It was hard for me to write this chapter for some reason. Oh well, I got it done! I'm so happy! I'm sleepy... I need food. This chapter made me starve myself.  
  
Also, don't forget to head to my fan art web-site! I have absolutely no art there! It should be a blast! And in order to give you the URL I'm going to be confusing and challenge you to write this down. Okay. Here goes. Typical World Wide Web stuff. Dot. Next word begins with a "G" ends with an "S" has and "EO" and a "CITIE" in there somewhere. Dot. That Com thing. Slash. Not as in a male/male thingy. And actual Slash. Insert my pen name here. But instead of a - you should have an _ between the words that form my name... Or you could just go to my bio-page and click on the link there. Either way, it's not much of a challenge... maybe reading the stuff. Dunno. It confuses me!  
  
-Gray 


	10. We Have A Plan

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything even remotely to do with the Ronin Warriors, although I wish I did. Anything that is original, like the girls, is mine. Blah. So yeah, if the people that DO own them would like to sell them for every thing that's in my pocket- fifty cents... NO Fifty-two cents! a stick of gum... some lint- I'd happily take them off their hands! **wink-wink, nudge-nudge** See! Special signal wink! Surrender to the subliminal wink!  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
Chapter 10 By: Soulful Gray  
  
"WEASEL! KITTY! HOW THE HELL!" she screamed as her two sisters, Sage, and Kayura suddenly appeared before her.  
  
She wanted to jump up and down, hug Anubis, hug her sisters, hug Anubis again, kick Buffy, wave to Kayura, and hug Anubis all at one time. It made it hard though, that she could only jump up and down and hug Anubis, which she did with a droolish gusto; Lin, Katrin, Sage, and Kayura were outside the tree and up in the sky for that matter. The only way she could have brought them under the tree- like she had with Anubis- was if they entered her Realm at the same moment she did.  
  
"How did you get here! You're zoning! I didn't think you knew how! My gosh! Oiy! How did Buffy and Kay get here?! Did you drug them Lin? Yip! Yip!" She bounced excitedly and Lin and Kat just stood there staring at her.  
  
"Birdie! If you'd just shut the hell up-" Lin started.  
  
"Where the hell are we!" Sage yelled at the redhead next to him. "What's going on!"  
  
"We're in the Blessed Realm!" she snapped back. "Now if you could just-"  
  
"How in the world did you create this place!" Kayura exclaimed excitedly as she stared at the world. Then something- or rather someone- caught her eye.  
  
"Oh my gods," she whispered, her eyes widening. "Anubis!"  
  
"What are you-" Sage must have noticed too, because he caught sight of the redheaded ex-warlord and did a double take.  
  
"Kayura," Anubis said softly. "Sage." He was staring at them and then he smiled. "It has been a while."  
  
"What are you doing here!" Sage yelled out. He still wasn't used to being caught up in the air, but he was slowly forgetting about it under the shock of seeing his one-time ally down on the ground below him, seemingly alive and well.  
  
"How did you get into this world?" Kayura asked. While they spoke to the warlord, Robyn and her sisters were talking quickly.  
  
"I don't know. I was brought back to life by a creature called Lasheen, and then he brought this Robyn girl into his captivity. Somehow she managed to save us by bringing our... I supposed you could call tem our souls into this world."  
  
Kayura glanced over at Robyn. "But I thought this world was a creation of your mind, therefore inside your mind."  
  
Robyn stopped and glanced up. "Nope. The Blessed Realm is a creation farther outside the mind and deeper inside it. It is a combination, so that it can be inside or outside when I choose it. It is not held by any vessel under most circumstances. It exists as a place for souls to enter as I will it." Having said her piece she started talking to her sisters again.  
  
Kayura eyed the girl for a moment and then turned back to Anubis.  
  
"So you are alive," she said softly. She shook her head, laughing softly as she started to cry. "I can't believe you're alive."  
  
"Anubis," Sage asked. "This means you'll be coming to the mortal realm with Robyn." His visible eye was shimmering with a bit of moisture, but he didn't cry like Kayura. "It's going to be great to have you back."  
  
Anubis felt emotion welling up inside him. He would be amongst the Ronins again. Ryo, Mia, Yulie, White Blaze; all of them. He smiled up at them.  
  
"Indeed," he said. "I'll have trouble waiting till I can be with you all again."  
  
Before he could go on with something mushy to say- if he ever says mushy things- in his oh-so-sexy voice, Robyn interrupted.  
  
"Okay! Got a plan!" she said cheerfully and Anubis felt a twinge of annoyance.  
  
"Hopefully this one might actually work."  
  
Robyn's eyes turned stormy gray. "Hey! At least I tried the last time! And this one will be much easier!" she snapped. "Anyway. Katrin is going to conjure our bodies to the spot nearest to the Blessed Realm. That spot will be real. Then, I'll just will us back to our bodies. It means we're going to be open to attack, and you're going to be the most vulnerable."  
  
Insulted that she would consider him vulnerable in any state, he tried to say something but Kayura intervened, asking a question.  
  
"What do you mean, 'the spot nearest to the Blessed Realm?"  
  
"Oh. Like I said, this place isn't contained in any vessel under most circumstances. It just kinda floats around. So we'll go down to our bodies and make the rest of the journey on foot for however long it might take. I'm sure there's some sort of doorway we'll come across if we're still in Lasheen's world."  
  
"And how do you plan to find such a doorway when you don't know how to navigate Lasheen's world?" Anubis asked smoothly.  
  
"I don't. We'll improvise. Who knows, maybe we'll end up in the mortal realm; after all, the Blessed Realm floats in many places. If you don't like it, I'll just leave you up here, let your body rot, and transfer your soul into the body of a dead ass-goblin! And it would be such a waste too!"  
  
"A waste of what?" Katrin asked, wondering about Robyn's thoughts on the redhead.  
  
"An ass-goblin!" she quipped. "So, Kitty, if you'd just skedaddle back to the real world and go about conjuring our bodies, we can be out of here in no time. 'Nubis, you might feel weak, helpless, defenseless and useless once it happens, but don't worry. It happens to the best of us, too, sometimes." She winked at him and then skipped to the roots of the tree.  
  
"Don't worry, Birdie! We'll have you back in no time!" Katrin was sniffling a bit and so was Lin as they said their goodbyes. Sage and Kayura were reluctant to leave Anubis behind, but eventually they allowed Lin and Katrin to tug them along.  
  
"So now we wait. Once we pop out of here, we should be able to find our bodies fairly easily. I don't know where our bodies will be. Kitty's pretty good, so maybe we'll automatically go to the mortal realm, but I don't know if she has enough to do that."  
  
"Do you even think this little plan will work?" Anubis asked coolly.  
  
Robyn turned and glared at him. "Hey, did I ask you for an underlined opinion? No!" She stuck out her tongue and jumped up to sit on one of the roots. "Quite frankly, Anubis, I don't think you have much to comment on, considering that you're not in any position to do anything else but chill out." She wanted to let her legs hang free, but it was hard with the skirt and she cursed. "Stupid dress thingy..." With a snap of her fingers, she changed the look into a pair of green pants and a comfortable black t- shirt. Sometimes, pretty dresses really got on her nerves.  
  
Comfy, she started swinging her legs back and forth and watched him. "Anubis, have I done something to offend you? If I have, I'd really like to know what I've done so I can figure out whether or not I should apologize to you." His gaze cooled further after that comment.  
  
"Don't you think that if you offend someone, you should apologize to them, regardless?"  
  
"Not really. If you think about it, some people are offended over the stupidest stuff." She watched him. "Well, how have I offended you? Is it my personality? The way I act? My voice? The fact that I exist?" She crossed her ankles and stared down at the toes of her slippers. "Sometimes I don't get why people apologize for things like that. I mean, sure, I've apologized for all those things before, but just because I offend someone with those traits doesn't mean I should always have to apologize, common courtesy be damned."  
  
Having said her piece, she looked up at the black sky and bit-by-bit willed every last star back to its home and then did the same for all the little fire-flies. She hadn't even waited for Anubis to answer, and he got the feeling that she was ignoring him.  
  
Truth was, he didn't really have a reason to be offended by her; she just annoyed him. And as he watched her more, he realized he shouldn't be snappish for her failed attempts. At least she was trying.  
  
"I apologize," he said before he could stop himself. "I had no cause to find offense with you, and for that I would ask your forgiveness."  
  
He smile was bright, and it hit him that the Blessed Realm didn't need a sun, or moon, or stars to be bright; she was a light source in herself when she seeemd happy.  
  
"Hey, it's no problem. I'd probably be waspy too if I'd just escaped from an It!" She blinked then. "Well, considering I just did... well... hmm..." She shrugged. "Anyway, it's no biggy." Without another word she lay back on the giant root and stared up into the bare branches of the tree.  
  
"I asked you earlier to tell me of your powers," he started after they'd sat in silence for a few minutes. "Would you please explain them?"  
  
She shrugged. "There's not much to explain. My magic spans pretty wide. I can do lots of stuff and I'm fairly powerful if I will it."  
  
"So you are a sorceress?" He sat on the ground beside her root and pulled himself into a lotus position.  
  
"I dunno. I guess."  
  
"You said something of foresight?"  
  
"Yeah. It's one of my special powers, the ones I didn't have to learn. I was born with them. I have Foresight, the ability to sense a person's thoughts and feelings, and the power to know their past. I don't use those powers that much. Well, the Card of Feeling... yeah, I've used that one a lot."  
  
"Card?" He glanced up at her.  
  
"Oh, I put those three powers into Cards. It helps control them. Otherwise I'd probably be in an institution. Anyway, I've also developed a knack for the elements, and those are fairly high on the magic scale when it comes to their power. Everything else is fairly basic."  
  
"Such as?" He really wanted to know what she meant by "basic".  
  
"Not much. Potions. Conjurring. Illusions. Teleportation. Telepathy. Transformation. Telekenisis." He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"And those are all just simple spells to you?"  
  
"Well, transformation's pretty complex, and so is teleportation if you have a long ways to go or you've more than one person. But everything else is pretty much standard to me. Now telepathy, I guess that couldn't really be considered magical, except in the sense between Kat, Lin and myself, but even then it's more a physical link. However, it's kind of a mix betweeen physical and magical since I couldn't use it in Lasheen's world or this one. Well... since they contacted my Blessed Realm... Hell! I don't even have that one figured out." She gave a disgusted face and rolled over so she was looking down at him. "But, yeah... Those pretty much cover it, and each one has a small sub-category fixed in there."  
  
"You say you're farily powerful, but your powers were suppressed in Lasheen's world?"  
  
"Yeah, well, I can't help that." She shuddered and a look of real fear crossed her eyes. "Compared to that thing, my power barely counts for anything. Worse than that, it's got a twenty deep, thousand foot high brick wall for a lackey. The attacks the guys used on him were worthless! I increased Ryo's sure-kill a hundred-fold and it just barely burned the skin off his back!" Robyn sat up abruptly and pulled her knees to her chin.  
  
"If I could just get ahold of that damn ball again. I can't believe I dropped it in the lake! It would have been useful!" She looked down at him. "But between you and it, I wasn't about to leave you to drown."  
  
"I thank you for that," he said dryly.  
  
"Well, I suppose we'd better prepare for our return to our bodies. You were pretty worn when we escaped, so don't be surprised if you still feel that way when we go back into our bodies. I'm not a healer, so I won't be able to help you much. We'll have to wait for one of Lin's potions or Sage."  
  
Anubis thought of something just then. "You don't know where we'll appear?"  
  
"Only that it will be under the Blessed Realm. For all I know, we're floating above South Africa. Either way, we'll rest once we're back in our bodies and I might be able to teleport us. Going back into our bodies will take a lot out of us, so it's iffy."  
  
He nodded and decided, just maybe, the girl did have more than a vague idea to what she was doing.  
  
Then she started talking to herself and that went to hell.  
  
The Mortal Realm...  
  
Katrin sighed as she concentrated on the power inside her. She was holed up in her room (she didn't like being watched) and focussing on trying to bring Robyn and Anubis's bodies to the Mortal Realm. She'd never done something so large before- well, besides a boulder Robyn had once tested her with, but Robyn was a living, breathing thing!  
  
Coming back from the Blessed Realm had been much better this last time. There had been a distinct difference between being under the Tree and floating outside it as a vision, and she hadn't felt so drained. Lin had felt the same, but Sage and Kayura hadn't faired as well. The shock of returning to their bodies had made them tired and they'd crawled off to bed after a quick explanation to the rest of the guys.  
  
Cye and Kentoe were safe-guarding her room at the moment, and Lin was downstairs making some of her special tea with Mia and Ryo. Katrin sighed. They'd had to dig through Robyn's things till they found just what they needed- her sketchbook. Robyn was a good artist and had several detailed sketches of Anubis, not to mention several pictures printed from the computer. Katrin hardly knew what the redhead looked like- even though she'd sorta met him in the Blessed Realm-, so she had stared at the pictures and sketches for several hours before she was positive she had every bit of him memorized. She'd focussed mainly on his face and his eyes. His eyes were especially unique with their emerald shade of green, so she'd made sure to pay special attention to them. She didn't want to accidentally conjure the wrong redhead.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and put her hands out in front of her. She hadn't conjurred anything in this manner for a long time. Most of the time she relied on her bag, and she hoped she hadn't forgotten how to conjure without the tote.  
  
She felt the energy spreading from her finger tips and coursing to the space in front of her so it tangled like a webbed. Focussing, she shaped the power into a squared field and let a mental picture of Robyn and Anubis form behind her eyelids.  
  
Carefully, she divided the field into two uneven pieces: the larger piece went to Anubis, and the smaller to Robyn. She started on Robyn's first and began shaping blindly with her hands. Her fingers passed over what would be a head and it rounded and she swayed her fingertips over the rounded part to form eyes, nose, and lips. She coursed downwards and began kneading and shaping things to the mental image of Robyn.  
  
-You'd be a great sculptor, I think, if you took some classes.- Robyn had told her once. -The way you just close your eyes and move your hands to form something... Even though it already exists, you craft it out of thin air so it becomes real in another place. Like a sculptor.-  
  
Well, she was about to sculpt a masterpiece. Her biggest project yet. Two living beings. All her other projects had been inanimate, lifeless. This was a risky situation.  
  
Finally, she reached the toes and swished her hand to the remaining power. It expanded, like thread, and closed around the sculpted energy like a leotard. She didn't know if Robyn's body would come with the clothes, so, it was just in case.  
  
Next came the harder projects. She tried- and succeeded- to not let her fingers stumble over him. For the most part, as long as she had his face almost exact, the rest would be a moot point, but she conquered his shape nonetheless, outlining him with perfection. She finished Anubis in nearly record time and wrapped him in the excess; although, she didn't think he would appreciate a leotard- what guy would?- so she formed a cloak instead.  
  
When she opened her eyes, her hands were still spread outwards, but instead of touching empty space, the touched the feet of two ghost-like figures that hovered parallel to the floor. A mist of power floated around their transparent bodies and she felt triumph well up inside her. If she could see them like this, she knew she had indeed succeeded.  
  
She smiled and closed her eyes again as she willed them to become solid, for their wraith-like figures to have color and flesh beneath skin. Then came the point to will the bodies to appear in their proper destination, beneath the Blessed Realm. All her power went into it and when she was through with the task and she opened her eyes, all that was left behind was empty space.  
  
Katrin keeled forward with a strained cry and felt all her energy drain from her; it had been a harder task than she had thought at first. It had been simple really, but the complexities that lay beneath it were hard to see and huge in number.  
  
She heard the door crash open and the thundering sound of footsteps. Then she could have sworn she heard startled voices call out her name. But she only smiled and fell into welcoming slumber.  
  
Lin sipped at her tea as she stared out into the night from where she sat at the kitchen table. Katrin was sleeping peacefully in their room after having just done what Lin had thought impossible. Her younger sister had just conjurred two humans from thin air.  
  
She savored the flavor of ginger peach and lots of sugar as she let it slide over her tongue. It wasn't a flavor she'd made herself, but the special potion she'd put in it was to promote a restful state of being and she sighed as the feeling crawled over her.  
  
She'd nearly freaked when she'd run upstairs and found Kentoe cradling her unconcious little sister. She'd heard Katrin cry out and immediately feard the worst. The moment Lin stepped inside the door, she had drilled Kentoe until Cye had actually snapped at her to be quiet. Kat was just sleeping. She was exhausted.  
  
Lin wished she could say the same for herself. She felt useless at the moment. She wasn't in any real position to do anything to help anyone since all she could do was make potions and occasionally transform Vaseline bottles into gel bottles. She could now Zone, too, but big deal. That wasn't really helping anything.  
  
-I wonder how Birdie's going to know that her body's been conjurred.- Of course, she figured Robyn would probably know with her uncanny way of knowing things.  
  
She wished she had a special power like that. She was good with potions, sure, but she had to learn that stuff. She wanted something unique!  
  
-Stop repeating your thoughts, Weasel,- she reprimanded silently.  
  
She took another sip and looked over at the window above the kitchen sink and noticed that Mia's plants were looking wilted. A few pots of small flowers and a small Bonsai. Nothing big. Through the excitement of the last couple days, she figured Mia must have forgotten to water them. She might as well do it for her.  
  
The soil of the plants was cracked and dry and she winced as the pretty bud of a flower snapped off and fell. Poor thing. It was a pretty plant too, some sort of blue thing. She grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water to pour into the flower pots.  
  
The Bonsai didn't really look as bad as the others, but it still needed some water and she smiled as she couldln't help touching the lovely plant. It was an old one by the look of the roots. She moved on and fingered the delicate leaves of some small white flowered plant. It was the worst of them all, and she frowned and gave it a little extra attention with her caresses. Then she moved to the other two pots and have them all similar touches, wishing she could do something more for them.  
  
She dumped her cold tea into the sink and walked out of the kitchen. She was restful now and she wanted to get some sleep.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Heya! It's been a really long time between this chapter and the last one! But hey! I got it done at least! Yippee for me! It's really short though, compared to the others. I apologize if you see a lot of spelling mistakes. I'm writing this without a word processor. So yeah. Also, I've put a lot of planning into this South Africa idea! Hmm... I wonder what Anubis would look like in a loin cloth.... drooooooooooollllllies.... Yum. Anyway. I have art up on my site! It's my own! Go there! Please! My links on my bio- page! Thank ye for reading. Oh! And please review if you can!  
  
Gray 


	11. Back In Our Bodies

Disclaimer: Ermmm.... I OWN ANUBIS! NO OTHER!...... no... I don't.... **cries pitifully** I don't own him! WHAAAA!  
  
**Himby the Hambit enters**  
  
Himby: Squeak....  
  
Translation: "Due to the fact that the author is currently being rushed into the ER for a serious increase in her blood sugar and dehydration from crying pitifully- mostly because she's a totally obsessed nut-case with no real life-, this disclaimer will be performed by myself, Himby the Hambit, cross between a Hamster and a Rabbit. Gray does not own anything pertaining to the Ronin Warriors. Original characters- Robyn, Lin, Katrin, Lasheen, Kaiden, and some possible future others- do belong to her. She is owned...  
  
**Himby exits, wiggling his little hamstery tail**  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
-words- mean private thoughts of a person.  
  
Chapter 11 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Lin carried herself down the stairs with the air of someone really wanting to do damage.  
  
"It's been two days!" she growled out loud. "Where the hell is that stupid Birdie! She should have been here by now!"  
  
She'd attempted getting back to the Blessed Realm but found only a bunch of gray clouds every time she thought she was getting in. She figured Robyn must know her body was ready for her, but what was taking her so long!  
  
"It might not have worked, Lin," Katrin said at the breakfast table a few minutes later. "There was no guarantee that I would be able to get their bodies here, ya know."  
  
Everyone else was quiet. Lin figured they were thinking of Anubis, whom they'd thought they'd never see again.  
  
When they'd told them after getting back from the Blessed Realm, a rippled mixture of shock, excitement, and disbelief had rocked through the others. It had taken the combined urgings of Kayura and Sage to get them all to believe that it was so: Anubis was alive.  
  
Lin sighed and picked at her eggs, frustrated. "I know, Kitty, but it's easier to just growl about Birdie being as slow as a seven-year-itch..." White Blaze started growling a bit and bounded from his spot beside Katrin's chair. They all jumped a bit and turned their heads to see what he was doing.  
  
"I really resent that, Weasel. I'm as slow as a damned nine-year-itch! Get it straight!"  
  
"BIRDIE!" the two girls screamed as they both vaulted from their seats to tackle her.  
  
A Little Over One Day Earlier (Still in the BR)  
  
Robyn started counting the stars again. She knew how many there were: beyond and actual countable number, but she liked to grid the sky a bit and try and count them all anyway.  
  
"How long have we been in here?" Anubis asked her.  
  
"Shit! Lost count!" She was laying on her back amidst the grass just outside the tree and she turned her head to the side to look at him. He was seated under the tree, leaning back against one of the many giant roots.  
  
"I don't know. It seemes like we've been here for only about ten hours, but in reality, it's probably been about a day or more. Time goes slowly here."  
  
"How long are we able to stay here?" He looked anxious, probably to get back to his body.  
  
"I don't know. Like I said, our bodies are a moot point while we're here, but I don't know that they couldn't die and decompose without our souls in them. I think they just sort of go dormant, but I can't be for sure."  
  
"You're not for sure on a lot of things," he stated.  
  
Robyn sat up. "Yeah, well that's one of the only things I can be sure of."  
  
"How will we know our bodies are safely away from Lasheen?"  
  
"Dunno."  
  
He glared at her. "Why does that not surprise me?"  
  
"Because it shouldn't." She pulled up a shoot of grass and began nibbling on it, when suddenly she got a niggling at the back of her mind. It was that familiar old feeling and she grinned. "Speak of the devil..." She jumped up and skipped under the circle of the tree, giddy with excitement.  
  
"Our bodies are in the Mortal Realm."  
  
"How do you know?" Anubis stood.  
  
"Because I'm reforming my link with my sisters!" she squeaked excitedly. "When I was in Lasheen's world, it was comepltely smothered, but now that my body's back in the mortal realm it physical link with them is being reestablished!" she did a little twirl of happiness and then tried to put on a serious face, but it was impossible for her to hide the twinkle of merriement in her eyes.  
  
"Then we are leaving now?"  
  
"Yup!" She beamed. "I'm going to give Kitty a really big huggle when we get back!" Then she yawned. "But this place is taking a lot outta me, so we'd better get going." Smiling, she held out her hand. Cautiously, Anubis took it and she pulled him out from under the safe haven of the tree's mighty branches. She turned at the last moment and glanced at the being fondly.  
  
"Farewell, my Haven," she whispered, just barely loud enough for him to hear, and then she looked up at him. "Close your eyes."  
  
He did and felt like he was falling.  
  
Pain assaulted him what seemed like only moments after he'd closed his eyes. He cried out as the feeling licked at his skin and coursed through his blood, searing him from the inside out. He felt like he was back in Lasheen's clutches! He sucked in a sharp breath as he felt a hand land on his shoulder, fearing it might be Kaiden's- or even worse- Lasheen's hand touching him.  
  
"Anubis! Shhhh. It's okay, Red. Calm down, it's just me. It's Robyn," he heard whispered above him and he snapped his green eyes open as all te air seemed to rush out of his lungs on one violent gasp.  
  
It was her! Her gray eyes mocked him with their presence, taunting him with the sincerity and worry that clouded them. Her blond hair was falling around her face and brushing against his in graceful waves. He felt like he was choking on his breath as he tried to search for a feeling outside the pain and the shock.  
  
"Anubis! Come on..." He could only lay back, helpless, as she gathered his upper body into her arms and began to rock him back and forth. "It's alright. Everything's alright. We're both fine. You're fine. Breathe sweety." Her voice was lilting into some strange accent, reminding him of Cye, but with a different twang. "Breathe..." She was whispering to him as she rocked, and his breathing managed to slow down to something akin to normal. He clenched his eyes shut and let out one long shuddering breath as his memory crashed down on him.  
  
"Robyn..." He angled his head and opened his eyes, looked up at her, recognition floating around in his mind as he stared. She reached up and brushed his hair away from his face, a gentle look on her face.  
  
"Rest up, hon. We'll be back home soon. Close your eyes." She brushed her fingers over his forehead and he nodded, unable to find his voice. But he closed his eyes again and felt himself falling into dreams.  
  
Robyn looked down at the tortured redhead in her arms and suddenly felt tears well up in her eyes. She wished she could offer him another Blessed Realm, where he wasn't feeling the pain inflicted by Lasheen. She knew that his calm interaction with her in the Blessed Realm had been a soothing technique brought on to him by his own soul, and now that he was back in his body, that calm was no longer in place.  
  
She glanced about and noticed that the area around them was shady, but dry. The sun was glaring down at them from a bright blue, cloudless sky, and the tree that shaded them was rather straggly looking. The grass on the ground was brown and deadish looking.  
  
She gave a dry sound and slapped herself in the head.  
  
Damn her own self for mentioning anything about South Africa!  
  
A few hours later, Robyn suddenly jerked awake. She hadn't meant to fall asleep! She'd just been so tired, she hadn't been able to resist laying down and just closing her eyes. She'd meant to stay awake to watch over Anubis to make sure he would be okay.  
  
She looked over at him and found him still pleasantly asleep. It was getting late in the evening and she reached over to tucke an errant strand of hair behind his ear. He was sleeping well, at least. His breathing was even and he didn't look pained or anything.  
  
She glanced over him. He was decked out in a cloak- probably courtesy of Kitty- and the ratty college sweatshirt she'd thrown around his hips earlier. She'd torn the wings off her back immediately after knocking Lasheen out; that's how she'd managed to get the sweatshirt off. It was a huge shirt, especially on her, and it was tied snugly around his waist.  
  
She glanced down at herself. She'd worn a tank top under the sweat, but in place under the tank and her jeans was a tight white leotard, no doubt also from Kitty. She picked at the sleeves as she studied him.  
  
Who'd of thought? Anubis, alive. She gave a little snort of amusement. It was like all her obsessive fantasies come true, but she wasn't sure she liked this one. In all her fan fic writing days, she'd constantly brought Anubis back to the living, but in those days, he'd enjoyed the company of her self-based character. He hadn't been annoyed by her. She'd liked the thought of instant romance. She sighed.  
  
"Well, tough luck, Birdie," she muttered as she placed a hand on his shoulder to wake him. They had to get going.  
  
She stifled a cry as his hand shot out and latched onto her wrist. His eyes were widen and dark as he stared at her with defiance.  
  
"Leave me alone!" he shouted at her angrily and with sudden burst of strength, he threw her to the side as though she were a rag doll.  
  
"Anubis!" she yelled as she skidded onto the ground. He was struggling to his feet, his breathing labored, swaying as though a breeze could knock him down. Then he straightened, glaring at her.  
  
"Calm down, Anubis. It's me! Robyn! The annoying blonde from the Blessed Realm!" She got to her feet and took a catious step towards him.  
  
"Stay away!" he shouted. "Leave me alone, Lasheen!"  
  
She gritted her teeth and walked up to him.  
  
His stance changed and he looked as thought he feared being punished.  
  
Instead, she reached out and smoothed his disheveled hair back from his face.  
  
"Shhhhh," she soothed. His fear and defiance radiated from him in waves harsh enough to put a tsunami to shame. "I'm not Lasheen. I'm Robyn. Just Robyn."  
  
Anubis felt the fear leave him as her cool hands touch his face; Lasheen's hands had always been ice-cold, but the fingers that brushed his cheeks now held some warmth, if not much. Their true warmth lay in the feeling of comfort they gave him. He closed his eyes and began slumping forward.  
  
Robyn then realized just how much Lasheen had beaten the warrior before her, and she felt firey anger shoot up inside her. In the Blessed Realm, Anubis had been strong, but his soul would always be strong. When he was in his body, his defenses were down. It amazed her how much the body could be connected with the soul.  
  
"Anubis, we're going home now. I only ask that you trust me for as long as this might take. After that, you can distrust me as much as you want," she whispered as she threw her arms around his middle to keep him standing. She blushed at the contact since he was nearly nude. "I'd conjur some food and water for us, but that would take too much energy. And I can't teleport us; I don't know if that would be good for you."  
  
"Home," he managed to wheeze out as he stared down at her.  
  
"Yes. The Ronins, Mia, White Blaze, Yulie. Even the other Warlords and Kayura." She smiled up at him. "I'll carry you on the wings of an eagle." He gray eyes were smiling as she released him and he only barely managed to remain standing as she took about ten steps back and closed her eyes.  
  
His eyes widened as she started to change. He remembered something. Words in his head. "Transformation..." That was it! She was transforming into something! Wings of an eagle. Fascinated, he stared at her body as it grew large, changed shape. Her arms, which she'd held akimbo, started to bend at an odd angle. Her head began to grow longer, sharper. Feathers sprouted from under the thick layers of hair; the feathers were the same blondish color. She grew and grew, until she was nearly ten times his size.  
  
When it was complete, a pair of sharp gray eyes snapped open and stared at him.  
  
-*Get up on my back,*- she said, scooting so she was right next to him. She lowered her neck and shoulders. -*Don't be afraid.*-  
  
Exhaustedly, Anubis managed to crawl on her great feathered back, and he was surprised to feel just how comfortable the feathers were.  
  
-*Hold on tight.*- She didn't have to tell him twice as held onto her shoulders as tightly as possible. -*I'm not a jet, so it might be kinda slow, but we'll get there as quickly as possible. And if we crash, we'll blame it on my inexperience. I've never flown like this before.*-  
  
He didn't know what a jet was, but it sounded fast and he closed his eyes as he felt the play of muscles under his stomach. A gust of wind whooshed past him as she spread her wings and started pumping the air around her. He felt a violent lurch and suddenly got the feeling that there was no ground below the feet of the eagle Robyn had become.  
  
-*I don't think this is South Africa,*- she said a while later as they flew. -*But it's hotter than hell out here!*-  
  
Robyn was following the pull of her link with her sisters. With every moment that passed she could feel the link get just a tiny bit stronger as she flew in one general direction.  
  
Inwardly she was wondering just how long it was going to take to get back to Toyoma, Japan. Flying was way faster, and she knew that her great wings were speeding them along quite nicely. She was surprised she'd even managed to lift off the ground. She was glad the instinct to fly had sort of popped up in her after her change. Robyn felt dread well up in her; when Katrin and Lin heard of this, they'd never let her live it down that she had actually been a bird for a while. Sometimes she hated having the name "Robyn."  
  
She'd put up a wall to keep her sisters from knowing she was back. She wanted it to be a surprise, even though she figured they'd kill her later for it. Oh well.  
  
A long ass time, two plane incidences, and one mild concussion later, Robyn spotted the Ronin Manor. Anubis was unconcious on her back, and she hoped landing wouldn't knock him off. Nope. That would be bad.  
  
She tipped her wings and streamed towards the ground, loving the feel of the wind rushing up and over her body. She tried to make the descent as gentle as possible and was fairly successful. She heard a pained groan behind her and flinched.  
  
-*Sorry, Red,*- she apologized as she touched down.  
  
"I never wish to fly again," he muttered as she let him slip off her back. They were in the backyard, and nobody had noticed them as of yet. Thankfully, she slumped down and started the change back from eagle to human. She collapsed to the ground, groaning as blood rushed back to proper places and bones set themselves right. All in all, she felt shitty as it happened.  
  
"Amen," she intoned as she pushed to her fet a little while later. He wasn't listening though; he was unconscious again, and she groaned as she started dragging him to the door. She was so tired. She couldn't even bring up the simple power to levitate his fine ass back to the house.  
  
Present  
  
"I really resent that, Weasel. I'm as slow as a damned nine-year-itch! Get it straight!"  
  
"BIRDIE!" the two girls screamed as they both vaulted from their seats to tackle her.  
  
White Blaze was standing outside on the back deck and pushed into the house, effectively cutting off the sisters. On his back was one unconscious, redheaded ex-warlord. Chaos ensued when everybody saw him. They started rushing around like the proverbial chickens, racing to get him off White Blaze's back, get him cleaned up, get him wrapped up, and Robyn smiled faintly as she watched this from her point at the doorframe.  
  
"Night Red," she called dryly as she finally welcomed the hugs of her sisters.  
  
"Birdie! What took you so long!" Lin grumped.  
  
"I conjurred you guys over two days ago!" Katrin said unhappily.  
  
"Eh?" Robyn looked at them blankly. "I'm glad." Muttering incoherantly she started for the stairs. "Tired... sleepy..." She yawned, emitting her usual squeak. "Talk later... sleep now... No... bath... Long... Hot..." When she got to the top of the stairs, she switched her goal and went into the bathroom. Lin and Katrin understood that she was tired as hell, but they were still extremely anxious to know what happened, why she was closed off from them. And when she shut the door without another word from them, they sighed.  
  
"Birdie'd better talk later..." Lin muttered.  
  
"Where did Robyn go?" Kayura asked, coming up beside them.  
  
"She's in the bathroom, preparing to use up all the hot water in the house, no doubt," Lin said dryly.  
  
"Well, can you make sure she goes to one of the rooms upstairs?" Kayura asked sheepishly. "Your room was the nearest clean room we got him to."  
  
"No problem," Lin said, smiling a bit.  
  
Robyn drew her bath and stared at the water as it poured down into the huge tub. Her eyes were starting to cross, she was so tired, but her skin needed to be cleaned badly. She looked over at the shelf and counter, scanning their contents to see if there was any bubble bath... Bingo! She spooted a bottle of some of Lin's stuff sitting on the counter, probably where she'd forgotten to grab it. Reaching over, Robyn snatched it and poured in a generous bit, watching the froth take over the water. Sleepily satisfied, she stripped and lowered her weary body into the suds.  
  
For a while she was content to just sit there like that, but then she reached over and grabbed some shampoo, wetted her hair, and set to scrubbing the locks. They'd felt horendously oily earlier. She didn't know who the bottle belonged to- probably Sage; the stuff was really nice and looked expensive. She'd pay him back somehow, but later. She thought the same of the conditioner, and the soap.  
  
After that she lay back against the little plastic pillow and stared up at the cieling.  
  
Drip. Drip. Drip.  
  
She heard the bath faucet dripping and closed her eyes.  
  
God she felt exhausted. The transfer to the Blessed Realm, plus a passenger, followed by returning to her body, added to transforming into a giant eagle and flying with aforementioned passenger nonstop back home had really taken it outta her.  
  
She heard a knock on the door and ignored it. The door cracked open and she heard something- cloth maybe?- slide across the floor. Then she heard the door click shut again.  
  
She took a deep breath and slid down fully into the water, wondering if she could just drown out her exhaustion.  
  
Mia sipped her tea, watching Ryo from the corner of her eye. He was tense, as though he expected a bad guy to just suddenly appear out of nowhere.  
  
"He brought back Anubis, Mia. Who knows what else he can do," he said suddenly, tightly. She was leaning against the counter across the room and she set down her cup and walked up to him.  
  
"That may be so, but we don't know enough about him to form anything solid."  
  
"We don't know who this Lasheen guy is, and we can hardly survive Kaiden's attacks. He looked down at her. "Robyn's manipulation of my surekill could help. I don't know if it hurt him any, but that's the only thing I can think of that would give us a chance against him. I should ask her if-"  
  
"She's exhausted Ryo," Mia interrupted, smiling. "And you're on edge. I think you should wait a while to ask her for her help, at least until she's managed to get some sleep."  
  
He looked down a bit sheepishly. "Yeah. I guess so." Glancing up at her, Ryo couldn't help the helplessness from showing in his voice. "I just donn't know what else we can do."  
  
"We'll figure out something, Ryo." Mia gave him a smile of encouragement. "Don't we always?"  
  
Lasheen's World (Ooooh, the prissy little It's gonna be pissed!)  
  
A shriek of rage sounded through the halls.  
  
Anyone within earshot would have fallen to the floor, convulsing from the inside of their heads out, form the sheer intensity and volume of the offensive sound. Of course, since the only people in the castle were Lasheen and Kaiden- and let's face it, Kaiden probably wouldn't have cared about the sound- nobody went into said convulsions, unless you, the reader, are capable of imagining such a sound and will thus fall into the spasms.  
  
In the room Robyn had first met Lasheen, Lasheen was destroying anything in sight. First the throne was picked up and tossed at the wall. It punched a large hole through the wall while shattering, and bricks and dust flew in all different directions as contact was made.  
  
Then came the lovely table, splintered against the floor.  
  
The tapestries were burned with bursts of flame that shot forth from Lasheen's fingertips.  
  
Another sickly cry tore from its lips as it moved through the room until everything was destroyed or beyond being repaired.  
  
Lasheen stood in the rubble, pristine and shining with a pale light, scanning the destruction. Rage colored its eyes black, and visible power crackled at its fingertips.  
  
"You're very good, Robyn," Lasheen whispered. "So good that you could use my physical weakness to your advantage. But no more. You have that same weakness, little bird. I'm going to toy with you all. You and those silly little Ronins. And Anubis... He will get his comeuppance.."  
  
Snapping its fingers, Lasheen felt the heavy weight of the crystal ball appear in its hands. It glanced down at the sphere.  
  
"Such a quick mind. Much like my own used to be..." It paced around the rubble.  
  
"Kaiden is good... He could destroy them all so easily. But I don't want that. I want them all alive..." It quieted and sueednly a hole was blown through the far wall where the throne used to be. Bright sunlight streamed in and Lasheen gazed out the water that surrounded the castle. There used to be a ring of land surrounded the small moat, but Lasheen had decided to expand the water to the ends of the plane it existed in.  
  
Just a few days before, Lasheen had almost achieved one of its ultimate goals: to have Anubis. He wasn't his father, but he was close enough. He was the perfect likeness.  
  
But then Kaiden had had to fish out two practically lifeless bodies from the damned one-time moat! One, the body it wanted to be, and the other, the body it wanted to have! Ruined!  
  
Not for long though. Glancing down at the crystal, Lasheen muttered something, and its black eyes flickered like the light that flickered in the ball.  
  
Talpa had left behind a few useful artifacts, some beings that the new guardians of the Netherworld had cast out rather carelessly in their lack of need for them. Lasheen had picked them up a while back, finding them scattered between worlds and realms like bits of garbage. Lasheen decided to fix them up and give them a new boost of power. They weren't nearly as nice, compared to Kaiden's strength, but Lasheen liked to toy with its victims.  
  
"Kaiden's good in his resistence to injury, and his attacks are incomparable... but he has no drive. No energy."  
  
Lasheen picked at a pouch tied to its left hip and pulled something out of it. Holding it up to the sunlight, Lasheen began sprinkling it out onto the wind. It looked like pollen as it travelled out on the wind, away from the castle, to the Mortal Realm.  
  
"Three days... they have three days of rest. And then, the fun begins."  
  
Then Lasheen looked at the water, distaste turning its eyes from the flat black to lovely silver it normally was.  
  
"I just need a few special things and this world will really be real. No more boring water. No ends to this world..."  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Hiya! What do ya think? Are you bored with it? Do you like it? Do you hate it? I beg you for reviews and suggestions. I've got events and stuffed planned out, but I'd really like you to tell me what you think of how I'm writing it. Himby says hi! Oh and if you notice that I keep referring to Lasheen as "IT", I might accidentally put "it's" when referring to to something being in Lasheen's posessions. I don't want to constantly be putting Lasheen's this, and Lasheen's that, even though Lasheen doesn't have this or that (ooooh, that's just gross. **shudders**)  
  
Also, in case you haven't read it on my bio page, here's a special question for y'all.  
  
If Piccolo from DBZ had working "parts" and they got cut off, would they regenerate?  
  
Ponder that for a while, would you?  
  
Review? Please?  
  
Gray 


	12. Plants, Chapstick, and Bowling Balls! Oh...

Disclaimer: You know what this means. This is where I tell you that I don't own anything. HAH! THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK! I own lots of things! Yes! Lots! My bag of sugar cubes for instance! I own that!  
  
Himby: **Squeaks**  
  
Oh... I'm supposed to say that I don't own the Ronins?  
  
Himby: **Nods affirmatively**  
  
Oh... Well I don't...  
  
Note: -* words* - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
-words- mean private thoughts of a person.  
  
Chapter 12 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Robyn stared at the floor. Fresh towels and her pajamas were there, folded neatly and waiting patiently. She grabbed the towels and set about drying herself. Then she threw on the pajamas and wrapped her hair in the smaller towel and walked out of the bathroom, automatically heading for the room she shared with her sisters.  
  
Nobody was there to stop her from opening the door and walking in. She jumped when she saw Sage in there, and Anubis asleep on the bed. The bearer of Halo looked over at her in surprise.  
  
"Oh. I guess they forgot to tell you to use a room upstairs."  
  
"Upstairs?" she groaned and then she spotted her nest on the floor from days previous. "Excuse my language, but that idea can go to hell. I'm here, my blankets are waiting, and I'm not going to use up non-existent energy to drag my ass upstairs when the floor will work perfectly fine." Sage shrugged as she finished and hurled herself onto the pile of blankets and pillows.  
  
"Suit yourself," he said as he turned back to healing Anubis.  
  
She wasn't listening. She was already deep in her dreams.  
  
Some time later, Lin was seated in the living room, at the counch under the big window that showed off a view of the front yard. She leaned over the back of the couch, her arms folded under her chin and her legs tucked underneath her, staring at the front yard where Yulie was playing with White Blaze. She sighed. It amazed her that the little boy could still be so normal after all that had happened to him in his few years. Hell, it amazed her that they all were acting so normal.  
  
The Ronins were a resiliant lot. Even though the Mortal Realm was being threatened, and death was a possibility, they were still bouncing back. They were training constantly, but aside from that they seemed to be hiding their worry.  
  
The sun was beginning to set outside, and she smiled and couldn't help but twiddle her fingers at it, as if saying goodbye. Then she pulled herself off the comfy couch and pranced into the kitchen.  
  
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she glanced at the window above the sink. The flowers were spilling over the edge of the sill and she squeaked as she ran over there. The blue flowers she'd been worried about days before were tangling around the faucet of the sink. It was a viney plant- morning glories, maybe- and the small white flowers next to it were growing straight up in a huge bushel. The Bonsai seemed to have gotten thicker at the base, and a little taller too. She ran her fingers over it in awe and gasped as it quivered a bit, like a living thing. She smothered a shriek as the morning glory unwrapped itself from the faucet and attached itself to her wrist, looping around and around, tighter and tighter, just before the point of cutting off her circulation.  
  
"Holy mother of pearl!" she gasped. Wildly she glanced about, and scooped up the pot containing the morning glory and rushed outside with it. The other plants were okay, but the morning glory was going insane! It reminded her of some cheezey old horror flick!  
  
She jogged across the lawn, and the morning glory continued to wrap its vines around. To the point of panic, she jumped from foot to foot, trying to get the damn plant offa her.  
  
"Stop it!" she ground out in a hushed voice as she came to the edge of the woods. She let go of the pot, but it didn't even drop. The vines were so well rooted to it, and so well wrapped around her wrists and arms, that the pot just hung there, swinging back and forth.  
  
"Let go!" she yelled.  
  
She was shocked when the plant actually began loosening its hold on her and fell gently to the ground. Curious, she leaned down and picked up one of the blooms. It started to tremble and then wilted in her palm. Wide eyed, she watched as a seed appeared after a few moments.  
  
"What in the world?" she whispered. She heard a faint ringing in her ears and shook her head to rid herself of the sound. She gulped as the plant started to break through the pot and rooted itself firmly into the ground. Gripping the seed, more than a little shocked, she backed away.  
  
"Okay. I guess if you wanna grow like mad, go ahead and grow like mad." She glanced down and blanched as she noticed the seed bursting open and a tiny little sprout popping out, right in her palm. "Ah schibble!" She stood there for a moment.  
  
Then she stuck her tongue out at the sprout and glared at it.  
  
"Bugger off!"  
  
A while later, Lin drug herself back into the house. Only after the promise to come back did the morning glories actually allow her to leave. Every other time she'd tried, there'd been this thing where vines would appear at her ankles and root her to the spot.  
  
She'd already deduced that it was something inside her that was making the plants grow like crazy. Maybe some power.  
  
She wondered if she should tell Robyn. Robyn would want to know.  
  
-No.- she thought firmly. -I want to keep this to myself for a while. Just until I have more of an idea of what it is...-  
  
She blinked as she saw the aforementioned Birdie sitting at the kitchen table, gulping down a large glass of orang juice. Robyn was clad in her pajamas still, and her hair was pulled back in a messy twist at the nape of her neck. She still looked tired, but better than she had before, so Lin sat down a couple chairs down so she could get a good angle on her older sister's expressions while they talked.  
  
"So? You gonna tell me why you were in that bad of shape when you got back?"  
  
Robyn glanced over at her as if seeing her for the first time and blinked. A tired smile graced her lips as she passed a hand over her messy hair and then leaned her chin into that hand.  
  
"Not much to tell. I used up a lot of energy doing all that. If I'd teleported, I probably would have been uconcious before I hit the ground." She shrugged.  
  
"You never got tired before," Lin pointed out.  
  
"True, but then, I've never transported my soul between worlds either. And the Blessed Realm doesn't count," she stated firmly when Lin would have said something about the Blessed Realm. "Even that's very taxing. Remember when you and Kitty first went under the haven of the tree with me?"  
  
"Well, that still doesn't explain why you were so exhausted."  
  
Robyn sighed. "New quick lesson. The magical energy stored inside us is not directly connected to our physical energy." She leaned on the other hand, dropping the other into her lap. "However, when doing something magical requiring the aid of the physical, it's taxing." She glanced over at Lin to see that she was listening. "In my case, I used a lot of mixed energies." She shrugged and stood up. "I'm going back up to bed. Oh! And guess what!" She paused at the door, and Lin, frustrated, stood.  
  
"Day after tomorrow, we're starting your lessons again!" A sad looked crossed the forced expression of cheer. "We're going to have to push things, Lin. I'm sorry for that. I thought we'd have all the time in the world for your training, even if it didn't feel that way." The exhausted blonde left without elaborating and Lin stomped her foot in frustration.  
  
"Birdie, you bird-brain," Lin muttered at the retreating girl's back.  
  
Resigned to the fate of not getting well-defined answers, Lin walked down the hall parallel the stair case and stepped into the family room.  
  
Not everyone was there. Kentoe and Dais were enjoying some combat game on the big screen TV; Ryo was playing chess with Rowen; the navy hair warlord, Kale, was flipping through a magazine. Mia was reading the book Robyn had lent to her. Nobody else was in the room, and Lin turned around without a word. She didn't feel like hanging with them.  
  
She made her way to the library on the second floor and found Katrin and Cye. They were sitting at opposite ends of the room, quite as church mice, and just as shy. Lin smiled a bit and would have left, but Katrin called out and stopped her from leaving just yet.  
  
"Hey, Lin. You have any chapstick I could borrow?" she asked, looking up from the blue covered, thick book she was reading. (AN: Hmmmm. I wonder what she could be reading.)  
  
Without thinking, Lin reached into her pocket and pulled out the small tube she'd been carrying with her since that morning. It was her own concoction, something she'd been working at to give her softer lips, but it didn't work very well. She usually had some in her pocket and didn't think anything of it as she tossed the tampered-with stick to the unsuspecting, albeit inadvertant, victim across the room.  
  
Katrin snatched it out of the air and put some on.  
  
"Hey, waita min-... Uh-oh," Lin said in a little kid's voice, plastering an "oopsie-daisy!" look on her face.  
  
The atmosphere of the room seemd to change, and Katrin dropped the chapstick the same time Cye looked up and his gaze locked with hers. Blue clashed with brown- a brown swiftly changing to black- and heat seemed to visibly spark from their eyes as they slowly started moving from their seats, dropping the books they'd been reading, and cautiously setting their paths for one another.  
  
"Cye?" Katrin said breathlessly.  
  
"Yes?" he growled out, a sound very out of character for him.  
  
"Get over here you sexy little fish lover!" she commanded (AN: Hmmm. Inuendo?). You didn't have to tell him twice as he rushed over to her and their lips fused as their passion for each other clashed.  
  
Lin watched on, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.  
  
She swore she was scarred for life.  
  
It was over much to soon for the Kitty and the Brit, as realization finally seemed to dawn on them after the fourth or fifth time they had to come up for air. By that time they'd made it to a chair, pressing and rubbing and kissing, Katrin straddling Cye's lap.  
  
Katrin was immersed in the most pleasant sensations of her life, as she greedily kissed the adorabley sexy young man whose lap she occupied. Wait.. Kissing? Sexy? Lap...?  
  
She snappped her eyes open the same time he did.  
  
Cye, meanwhile, was deducing that he wanted to find a bed, the floor, a closet, anywhere! Then the pleasurable pressure under his lips stalled, and a bit of his blood flowed back up to the brain in the head on his shoulders, and he opened eyes he hadn't realized he'd closed.  
  
Their lips were still locked, and her eyes had lightened again. She blinked.  
  
He blinked.  
  
She blinked.  
  
He blinked once more for good measure.  
  
A low whine started somewhere in the back of Katrin's throat, and Cye could feel the vibrations of said whine flowing through his lips where they touched hers. He felt heat spread across his face as he realized his lips weren't the only thing touching her. His hands had found a few rather inappropriate- and soft- places to latch onto.  
  
The whine became louder as they sat as still as could be.  
  
Lin- yeah, remember her?- started to back away.  
  
The number of objects that flew from Katrins tote afterwards were nearly uncountable, and the mess they made was atrocious. But let's not leave it at that! No! Let's describe the fact that Katrin remaind glued to Cye's lap for the first thirty seconds of throwing- I wonder why!- before she unseated herself. Her tote had been attached to her belt, so it made it an easy access route for the numerous things she had in mind to throw at the poor redhead.  
  
"DIE!" she shouted. "WEASEL!" She started the loud whining noise- dubbed a "skreik" by her sisters- again as she ran after Lin.  
  
"I didn't mean to!" Lin defended herself, uselessly, as she ran from the onslaught of objects made for pelting. Regardless of her impending doom, and the fact that she wasn't going to sleep at night because of the scene her sister had made, Lin couldn't help but let one lone giggle escape before it was cut off by the squeaky body of a rubber duck smacking her in the forehead.  
  
"Hey! No duckies allowed in this!" Lin shouted.  
  
"Die by ketchup then!" and a plastic bottle of ketchup smacked her shoulder.  
  
The pile of thrown objects grew and grew as they either missed Lin or flew down the stairs.  
  
"Hey! What's all that noise!" somebody called as they climbed the stairs. "What is all this crap!" Lin recognize Sage's voice and shouted.  
  
"Buffy! If you know what's good for you-"  
  
Too late. Katrin, under her fit of rage, thrust her hand in her bag one last time, envisioning something big and hard and heavy. Must... destroy... redhead...! DIE!  
  
She hurled the bowling ball at Lin, who'd finally made it to the edge of the stairs.  
  
*THUNK!*  
  
*THA-DUNK!*  
  
*CRUNCH*  
  
Insert a really loud semi-sissy shout here.  
  
"The hell?" Robyn poked her head out ofher room a minute later, rubbing her eyes. She looked at the piles of junk around her.  
  
If she were in an anime, she swore there would be a huge sweat drop rolling down the back of her head right then.  
  
Wait...  
  
She nearly dehydrated after that.  
  
The Next Morning...  
  
Everything was quiet in the Ronin Manor that morning. Quiet, except for the shuffling of garbage bags as two unfortunate young woman cleaned up the hall after the destruction left in their wake the night before.  
  
They were silent as stone as they bent over, picked things up, and shoved them in the trashbags; bent over, picked things up, and shoved them in the trashbags. They repeated the process what seemed like a thousand times.  
  
A vein was ticking in Katrin's forehead as she lifted the bottle of ketchup and tossed it into her back. Next came a dirty sneaker, which she handled as little as possible  
  
As they worked, everyone else was sitting down in the kitchen, eating a nearly silent breakfast. They feared the combined wrath of one injured blonde and one blushing Brit if they dared to say one thing to them about the previous night.  
  
Robyn hardly knew what was going on as she picked exhaustedly at her food. It was slightly charred, something she hadn't ever witnessed in Cye's cooking before, and she wondered if he was coming down with something. A fever maybe? All she knew was he'd somehow been involved in the violence that roused her from her sleep the night before. She yawned and glanced over at Buffy. His foot was in a cast and he had a lump above his visible eye, and thanks to the power of his sword, he'd be out of it soon and the lump would go down; however, that didn't mean he was pleased with the fact that his foot had been crushed by a bowling ball, or that he'd toppled down the stairs and slammed into the opposite wall head first.  
  
That was as much ass he knew. Katrin and Lin didn't want to talk about it.  
  
They weren't even talking to Anubis, a surprise since he was up and about and they wanted to talk to him badly. Something about the tense atmosphere just didn't bode well for talking about anything.  
  
Robyn didn't like silent meals.  
  
Finally her thread snapped and she glanced at Cye.  
  
"Cye, are you okay?" she asked tiredly. "You're acting like you saw a naked Arabic monkey humping a rat-terrier." There was a visible stiffening of his spine. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"  
  
That pushed him over and he swung around wildly.  
  
"No!" he shouted nervously, his face about as red as Anubis's hair. "She doesn't! I mean..!" He fled the scene and Robyn watched him go with wide, more-alert eyes.  
  
"What was that all about?" She blinked and glanced at everybody else. Only Anubis and Yulie, it seemed, shared her confusion. "Did I miss something?" She blinked again and then shot from her chair. "Hey! Whaddidee mean 'she' doesn't!" She stared after him. She put two and two together, managed to get some impossibly square-rooted number, and then yelled after him. "What did you do to Kitty!" She tripped over her chair on her way after him.  
  
An Hour Later...  
  
"You know this is your fault in a way."  
  
Lin about jumped a mile as the calm tones of Sage's voice sounded behind her. She spun around and glared at him.  
  
"Do you mind!" she snapped. "And what are you talking about. This is not my fault!"  
  
"Well, if it hadn't been for you," Sage replied calmly, "Katrin would not have gotten a hold of that chapstick of yours, and she wouldn't have thrown that bowling ball." They were standing in the hallway. "And my poor foot wouldn't be in a cast right now."  
  
"Poor widdle Buffy," she said saracastically. "What? Do you want me to kiss it and make it all better?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
She pouted. "I was being sarcastic."  
  
"I know. I wasn't though." He flashed her a smile. "So, when are we going on that date you owe me?"  
  
"Pardon?" She blinked.  
  
"We never did go out on that date, and-"  
  
"And as far as that date is concerned, its time has come and gone, is in the past, and will stay buried there. If you want you can plant some daisies at its grave, but it's not going to help it come back to life," she uttered dryly as she started walking away.  
  
"So why did you make chapstick that unleashes desire, hmm?" he asked smoothly as he followed her. "Have somebody you want to jump, or something?"  
  
"It was a mistake in the mixture," Lin shot back.  
  
"I'm sure. How long have you had it?" He grinned as she calculated and he eyes widened. "Not long, huh? Well, I find that flattering."  
  
"You would!" she shouted at him. "That's just like you, you egotisical, self-centered prat!"  
  
"I love the way you sweet-talk." He smirked and bowed to her. "If you want it that way, I'll ask again. Fair and lovely Lin, would you honor me by accompanying me on a date tonight?"  
  
"In your dreams!" she yelled, heading for the stairs to the third floor.  
  
"Plenty of those, I assure you."  
  
Lin growled. He was changing his tactics again! She swung around to give him a piece of her fine-tuned mind, when he switched to his original way of doing things, and before she knew it, she was sitting on the table in the hall, and he was smiling up at her.  
  
"What's the matter Sage?" she growled. "Can't get a date without forcing a chick?"  
  
"Well, since there is no 'chick' in my presence, I'll settle for asking gently of the beautiful, and willful young woman sitting right before me." Sage graced her with another of his normally heart-melting smiles. "Will you go out with me tonight?"  
  
"Sage, I can't be bothered with this right now! You can't either. Or are you just ignoring the fact that-" Lin found her mouth covered by his strong, gentle hand and stared at it.  
  
"Lin," he said calmly. "I'm aware that these are dangerous times. But it doesn't mean I won't take the chance to be normal between the times of chaos. It's dangerous for a warrior to be so on guard that he can't see peril right before him. That's how I was before. It's better to be relaxed and prepared. Relaxation promotes the warding of nervousness." He removed his hand and watched her seriously. "Lin, while it's still peaceful, I want to relax and have some fun, and I want to do that with you. I'm interested in you. Is there something so wrong with that?"  
  
Lin didn't look at him, kept her face impassive.  
  
"Will you please go out with me tonight? It might be my only chance to show you some light before the real chaos begins."  
  
A sigh broke her lips and reluctantly she nodded.  
  
Sage's demeanor changed and he smiled. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and noticed his eyes were shining, and she had to admit he was cute when he was happy.  
  
Something- the sincerity maybe?- in his voice had really gotten to her. She'd never known a guy that was actually interested in her. And Sage was hot. Maybe he wasn't faking it. Maybe he actually did have something beyond mild interest in her. She didn't know.  
  
She supposed she was about to find out.  
  
"You won't regret it," he promised, and before she could make a crack, he brushed his fingertips across her cheek and walked off.  
  
Oiy...  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Heya! Oooh, this chapter was fun. I was threatened that if I didn't have the chapter done soon, then my dream of having a naked Piccolo with "bonus features" was going to be dashed away! I couldn't allow that to happen! MWAHAHA! HE IS MINE!  
  
Anyway...  
  
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Oh, and to a certain someone who helps me with story ideas, the others that were going to be on this chapter will be on the next. Sorry! Please give me my Piccolo!  
  
Please Review!  
  
Gray 


	13. Lin Hates Dates

Disclaimer: Heeeeeeeeeeeey. Guess what! I don't own anything! Throws a Himby-ball at them  
  
Himby: SQUEAK!!  
  
Note: - words - means shared thoughts between the girls.  
  
-words- mean private thoughts of a person.  
  
Chapter 13 By: Soulful Gray  
  
Sage waited patiently by the front door, hands in the pocket of his black slacks, watching the stairs for the descent of his date. He smirked to himself and chuckled inwardly. Odd that he found himself about to go on a date with an infuriating redhead that by all rights he should probably have something against.  
  
He couldn't bring himself to have something against Lin though. She was too pretty and too much of a challenge for him to pass up.  
  
He had the evening planned out perfectly. First a little dancing, and then a quiet dinner at one of his favorite restaurants. Then maybe he'd take her on a classical moonlit drive to a beach somewhere. Sage's ego drive was at an all-time high, and little versions of himself dancing around with little versions of Lin were sailing through his head.  
  
He looked up and caught sight of Lin as she stepped gracefully down the stairs. Of the three girls, he'd have to say she was possibly the most lithe of the three of them; she passed by people like a summer breeze and he wondered if she would curl around someone just as sweetly. (AN: Not like that you pervs!)  
  
He cast an appreciative glance over her clothes. Her blouse was sky blue silk and opened at the top to reveal more skin than she probably cared for. The skirt was slinky like the top, made of black satin that clung loosely to her thighs and ended just below her knees.  
  
"You're late," he teased, glancing at the clock. It read 8:02, and she snorted.  
  
"Whatever. Let's get this over with." She reached for the door handle, but he beat her to it and opened the door for her. With hardly a glance his way she sailed out the door and waited on the porch for him to point to which of the jillions of vehicles they were using.  
  
He put a hand at the small of her back and guided her to the farthest car, a black little sport that had the soft top folded back, making note of how she stiffened when he did that.  
  
"Do you want me to put the top up?" he asked curteously. "For your hair?"  
  
"It's fine," she said stiffly. Shrugging, he opened her door and waited for her to be seated in snugly before he closed the door behind her. He hopped over to the driver's side and slid in easily.  
  
"I hope you like dancing," Sage said smoothly as he made his way not to Toyoma, but in the opposite direction. While he drove, he eyed her out of the corner of his eye, and little banners waved in his head that he had definately scored this time! (AN: Again, not in that way! Don't make Himby de-bitch you!)  
  
Because of the bucket seats, the skirt had ridden up over her knees just a bit, and the wind was making it creep higher up her thighs, but her hands were folded primly in her lap, stopping its path over her skin. He smiled and wondered if she even noticed how much of her skin really was showing.  
  
-Probably,- he thought. -Then again, maybe not. She would have been pulling it back down I think. Either that or she's too proud to admit being embarassed.-  
  
A little while later, he pulled up into a quiet town that hosted mostly restaurants and a few dance clubs. It was situated along the bank of a quiet lake that was a popular spot for romance.  
  
"Where do you want to go first, dancing? Or dinner?" He'd planned on dancing first, but on the drive over he'd rethought things. She'd probably want to sit and eat first. Maybe he could get her relaxed that way. Then again, she might become relaxed after some dancing. Whichever, he decided to give her the option, generous soul that he was.  
  
Lin answered quickly.  
  
"I'd like to eat first, if that's okay with you."  
  
"Alright then." He drove on a bit before turning into the parking lot of a tiny restaraunt that was shadowed by a small grove of trees.  
  
As soon as he parked, Lin reached for her door handle, but a ring of warmth surrounded her wrist the moment her fingers touched the cool metal. She hadn't even seen him move. She shot him a cool look.  
  
"Wait here. A gentleman always gets the door for his lady." Sage smiled and got out, swiftly moving around the front of the car.  
  
"I'm not your lady," Lin retorted. She thought she heard him murmer something like "yet" but she didn't comment; she didn't want to get into it. He opened the door and held his hand out to her. She took it silently and let him help her out of the bucket seat; she was inwardly glad he'd held his hand out. Otherwise, she feared she may have had trouble getting herself out of the seat.  
  
"Would you please remove your hand?" she asked when he placed said hand on the small of her back.  
  
"Why?" He removed his hand nonetheless as they walked side-by-side to the entrance, which was opened by a young man who ushered them in.  
  
"Table for two," the young man told a seating hostess.  
  
"Right then. This way." She smiled to them and led them to a small table in the corner next to a window; the table was lit by the full moon outside and a small candle that was poised at its center. On the window sill rested a lovely green ivy that spilled onto the very edge of the table.  
  
The hostess held out their menues to them, smiling at Sage with a barely controlled sense of flirtatiousness. "Master Date, shall you have the usual?"  
  
"Yes, Sherry." He barely flashed the girl a smile; he kept his eyes on Lin the whole while.  
  
"And you, Miss?" She turned to Lin, her demeanor just as happy, but a little less welcoming.  
  
Lin glanced down at the drink list. "Just water, please."  
  
"Yes, Miss." Sherry left them quietly.  
  
"Come here often?" Lin asked coolly.  
  
"If you must know, yes, I do." He smiled. "You never answered my question. Why don't you like to be touched."  
  
"If you must know, it's none of your business."  
  
"It is if I make you uncomfortable." Sage leaned forward a bit in his seat, and the shadows cast by the candle danced across his face in an enchanting manner. "I'd like to know how I should tread around you. I'd like to know how I can keep from upsetting you."  
  
"And I should tell you this because why?" Lin didn't let him answer. "I'm not going to be in this world long anyway. As soon as whatever it was that brought my sisters and I here gets its butt in gear, we're out of here."  
  
"And for all you know, that could take years. How do you know you won't be here for the rest of your life? Why not try to be happy if that happens?"  
  
"If I should try to be happy, what makes you think that going out with you is going to do that?"  
  
"How do you know it won't?" he shot back.  
  
"What makes you think it will?"  
  
It was really beginning to annoy Lin that she was letting him get her riled up. It also particularly ticked her off that she was showing it by flinging out useless "answer a question with a question" responses.  
  
"Is there a possibility you'd at least be willing to give it a try with me?"  
  
"I don't know. It depends on whether you're worth it." Their drinks arrived and Lin took a sip of the chilled water, fingering the teensie vial she held in her lap. How to get it into his drink...  
  
She'd unconciously grabbed the vial moments before she walked downstairs. It was a sleeping potion. She knew she was probably going to regret doing this to him, but just couldn't stand things as they were currently.  
  
She uncorked it with her thumb nail and sat there tapping the brim with the pad of that finger, casting quick glances at the glass he was holding.  
  
"What would you like to order?" he asked softly, affording her one of those smiles of his. You know the one- it would melt the bones of any woman within viewing distance, and cause them to beg at his feet for his priceless attention.  
  
She took another sip and shrugged, then picked up her menu to glance through it.  
  
Back at the Ronin Manor...  
  
Robyn sighed and slipped on her robe. She was damned exhausted. It was only getting worse as time went by. She couldn't figure it out. Something about the exhaustion just didn't sit well with her, so she was on her way downstairs to grab a cup of tea.  
  
She glanced into the living room and grinned when she saw Anubis sitting on the floor with Yulie, playing one of the boy's combat-oriented games, a concentrated look on his face. She emamined him from the back; she could still see how thin he was under the black t-shirt he wore, but for the most part he seemed to have regained his energy back. He'd been healed by Sage and given one of Lin's little potions to give him an extra boost, but now it seemed as though he was as far from any sort of edge as any healthy person.  
  
Smiling she drug herself into the kitchen.  
  
She snickered a bit when she caught Kayura and Dais sitting at the table together, absorbed in each other's mouth. The broke apart, gasping and turning wide eyes on her. She waved a bit and went for the stove where Mia had already set out some tea.  
  
"Dun mind me. I'm just passing through." Robyn got a mug, poured her tea, and scooted back to the doorway.  
  
She was halfway through when she glanced back at them.  
  
"Don't forget condoms!" she said, waggling her eyebrows.  
  
"Robyn!" Kayura gasped, her face reddening. Dais busted up laughing, earning the Lady's hard elbow in his side. Robyn just giggled and crawled back upstairs.  
  
Sipping at her tea, Robyn sat down on the floor of her soon-to-be ex-room, folding up the blankets she had used, preparing to take them to be washed. She was moving into one of the two rooms on the third floor, and due to a lovely game of Ro-Sham-Bo, she'd corralled her own room.  
  
Due to an incident involving being stepped on whilst she slept, Robyn had finally managed to convince herself to get off her ass and move into the other rooms. Ealier that day, she'd been asleep, and Anubis had hauled himself out of bed- he was still having a few little spells where he needed to drop- and forgetting she was there, he had walked right over her. That had been particularly painful and she didn't want to have a repeat performance.  
  
She stilled in her folding and looked up, concentrating on some hidden point in the distance. She frowned. Something was wrong with Lin. She sighed; the girl was being stubborn, refusing to admit to her hidden attraction to the sexy blonde who was doing his best to get her to fall at his feet.  
  
Well, maybe not his best.  
  
And she had only a vague idea as to why Lin was acting the way she was. An old memory that she'd only confessed to Robyn when she'd been under the power of one of her own potions.  
  
He seemed to be acting so out of character. This wasn't at all how she would picture him trying to get a date out of a hard-to-catch girl. She shrugged. The TV show was accurate to the point of being real, but the true reality still had a few small details overlooked by the animators.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she tried to sift through the feelings she felt eminating from Lin.  
  
"What in the..." She focussed a bit harder and sensed another, smaller presense attached to the girl's thoughts. Blinking, Robyn concentrated harder, but stopped when she felt a head ache coming on. She snorted disgustedly. Damn this weakness! She hated not being able to do something so simple as check up on her sister!  
  
Growling, she continued folding, hoping the task would ground the grumpy feelings she was experiencing.  
  
The Restaraunt...  
  
Lin felt the vine before it even touched her, so she didn't jump as it twined through the fingers of her left hand, which lay in her lap under the table, holding the small vial of sleeping potion. She and Sage were waiting on their order and he was trying to pull her into a conversation when the vine started acting up. She hadn't even thought of the plant on the table, she'd been so distressed about sitting across from Sage on an actual date.  
  
When it tipped the cork and snaked inside the opening she had trouble keeping her eyes from widening as it dampened itself in the clear liquid. She stiffened slightly as it crawled back up onto the table, afraid Sage would see, but he was too busy watching her, the first time she was glad he did so. Slowly, silently, the plant reached his glass and squeezed a few drops into whatever it was he had ordered. Then it receded back to its pot, unnoticed except by the distraught girl it had aided.  
  
Relieved, Lin corked the vial and and slipped it back into her purse. Now all she had to do was wait.  
  
Not long, it turned out as Sage reached for his glass and took a small drink. Just enough, she thought. He smiled at her.  
  
"I'm glad you came... with....me..." his head dropped forward and hit the table. Thankfully his napkin was there and it dulled the sound to a faint thud; Lin was also thankful their table was mostly hidden from view. She stood up and gathered her things; pausing, and stifling any guilt, she snatched a few bills from Sage's wallet before marching to the entrance.  
  
"Would you be so kind as to call me a cab?" she asked politely of the young door man. He blinked at her, confused, before rushing to do her bidding. She stepped into the cool night air and prayed that the cab would get there fast. The potion wasn't a strong one; it would only last long enough for her to get herself out of there.  
  
Luckily, the cab had only been a few blocks away and she practically through herself into the back seat and gave him Mia's address. The driver nodded when she asked him to hurry.  
  
It was lucky indeed, for a moment after the cab left, Sage snapped awake. He looked around confused, and when realization hit him, the dawning was followed quickly by a surge of anger and hurt pride. He glared at the wallet that lay on the table and snorted. So she was stealing from him now, eh? He threw some money on the table, more than enough to cover the bill and stalked past a startled Sherry.  
  
"Master Date? Is everything okay?"  
  
"Fine," he snapped as he charged out the door, lacking any grace as he got into his car and peeled out of the driveway moments later.  
  
He was apparently just barely faster than the cabby, as a while later he caught up to them in Mia's driveway. He cut the engine and waited. Line exited the cab and walked slowly up the steps and into the house, obviously ignoring the fact that he was there. That irked him and he slowly got from his car and followed.  
  
When he got inside, everybody that was present was staring at him. He didn't take notice of who as he walked up the stairs to go find his wayward date and give her a piece of his mind.  
  
Lin walked into Robyn's new room, unsurprised to find her pointing to a chair in a silent order.  
  
"So what do you think he did wrong this time?" Lin winced at the barely perceptable derisiveness that was hidden in Robyn's tone.  
  
"I didn't come here to get a lecture," she snapped.  
  
"Well you're going to get one." Lin started to get up from her seat, but Robyn's hand shot out and she felt herself glued to the chair.  
  
"Lin: while I normally don't emply my powers to force somebody to listen, I'm afriad it's quite obviously needed in this particular case. So, I will say this only once, lift my powers, and see if it doesn't get you to stay seated on your own."  
  
She paused and Lin felt dread build up in her veins.  
  
"Sage is not Robert."  
  
Lin stiffened and all color drained from her face as she remained seated.  
  
"Don't say his name," Lin choked out. Robyn's stern look softened.  
  
"It's unfair of me, I know. But you need to stop treating Sage this way. I realize he's not exactly on his best behavior, but then again, neither are you. He doesn't deserve unfair judgement." She paused. "He doesn't deserve to be compared to Robert."  
  
"Stop saying it," Lin said softly. "And don't tell me not to compare them. How can I not?"  
  
"How can you?" Robyn stood up from her seat on the bed. "Lin, sweety, I beg that you give him a chance. I really believe that he doesn't want to hurt you."  
  
"What would you know!" Lin shouted, standing up and knocking Robyn back a bit. "Nothing! You don't know anything about this so just stay out of it!"  
  
"Then stop acting like this!" Robyn said in an urgent tone. "You're going to grow up more bitter than you already are if you don't stop." Her gray eyes flashed, like a warning before a storm. "Lin, he's not going to hurt you!" A wind started picking up in the room, pulling Robyn's braids apart and filtering through the long strands of blond, raising them up and twisting them around. Lin's eyes widened as the pupils of her sister's eyes disappeared, leaving nothing but flat gray.  
  
"I know it."  
  
As suddenly as her anger had started the storm inside the room, it stopped and the wind faded. Robyn stood placidly.  
  
"How the hell do you know?" Lin whispered stubbornly, unable to met Robyn's eyes.  
  
"Why don't you ask him? He's right outside." She snapped her head arount and stared at the door, her blue eyes wide. Then she walked over and nearly tore the door of its hinges.  
  
Blue eyes met violet. Lin felt her insides clenching as he stared at her with that cool gaze and suddenly felt like she'd just been cast into the role of an unworthy peasant under a king's assessing gaze.  
  
The moment he had heard Robyn mention something about a guy named Robert, and Lin's reaction, Sage had lost his anger and had stood numbly to listen, hoping to gain some sort of link to Lin's secret emotions. The longer he listened, the more numb and ashamed he became. And when Lin opened the door- threw it open, more like- he just stared at her emotionlessly.  
  
"How much did you hear?" she asked lowly.  
  
"Enough." He looked away. "Who is Robert?"  
  
"None of your damned business."  
  
He shook his head and met her eyes once again. "It is if knowing about him can get you to trust me." He started walking away and then paused. "I'll wait Lin. I don't know why, but I will."  
  
Then he left, and Lin wanted a gaping hole to open and swallow her up, if it would get rid of the despicible loathing she felt for herself.  
  
An Hour Later...  
  
Robyn threw herself into Anubis's room and started digging around frantically in each nook and every cranny something small and flat could fit into.  
  
After Lin had left her room earlier, she'd been edgy again. Her emotions were coming and going like the tides and she didn't like it one bit. Only, after a few minutes, she'd finally locked onto some clear feeling; it had taken shape, and she understood why she was so stressed lately.  
  
One of her cards was missing.  
  
And not just any card.  
  
The card of the future. Her seer card.  
  
Things had quickly become clear to her after her failed attempts to bring the card up. The reason she was so taxed was directly related to her missing card. The farther away she was from it, the more her visions were trying to creep in and were pushing at the barriers the card provided- barriers that were stretched to the limit.  
  
Meanwhile, Anubis started awake and stared at her.  
  
"Robyn! What are you-" Before he could finish what he'd been about to yell at her, she stormed out, and a definite chill settled in the air in her sudden absense.   
  
Uh-oh. What's gonna happen now? I have no clue. Maybe you guys can tell me! Yeah, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to bring this chapter about, but I've just had trouble writing lately. I've had a huge brick in place of my brain, and work seems to demand the majority of my time now. Grrrr. Anyway, thanks to Princess Shadowcat for her awesome review. I hadn't felt like writing until I read that review and it gave me a little spark back! Yay! Oh, and I am well aware that I am weird. I'm just glad somebody else noticed for a change! Wait... Soulfully yours, Gray 


	14. Something About Robyn

_Disclaimer: Ya. Just wanted to let you know.... I am owned.... I don't own anything.... 'Cept for Robyn, Lin, and Katrin, the IT and Kaiden... And Himby... Well... with Himby.... He owns me..._

_I am an acorn head..._

_Note: - words - means shared thoughts between the girls._

_-words- mean private thoughts of a person._

_Chapter 14_

_By: Soulful Gray_

* * *

_Lasheen's World_

Lasheen reclined in a new throne, a beautifully crafted kimono circling its body. The room that had recently been completely trashed now looked as though it had never seen even the slightest damage in its entire existence; in fact, it looked even better than before.

The crystal was held tightly in one of its hands. A long, crooked crack speared across its smooth surface. Lasheen pursed its lips, rather irritated that it was unable to make the crack go away.

But held in its other hand was something that made the frown go away; a smile curled Lasheen's lips as it held up a thin black card, patterned with lovely green designs. A little souvenir left behind by a rather annoying blond girl. Found floating in the waters surrounding the fortress.

The smile turned into a grin. This would certainly make the element of surprise much more available to Lasheen's forces. If its assumptions were correct, Robyn's seer abilities would increase to such extremities that pretty soon she wouldn't be even able to pick up a water glass without its future being flashed to her.

All it had to do was tear the card.

By now, Robyn would be extremely susceptible to such an attack. So many days away from her card had surely sapped her strength. If the card had simply been destroyed from the beginning, Robyn could have still had the energy to create a new one. As it was, when the card was torn after this amount of time...

She'd be like a newly hatched bird... so weak...

Lasheen laughed softly...

And she wouldn't be able to predict its attacks. The girl would be so overwhelmed by all the futures she was seeing, she wouldn't have time to focus on her impending doom.

Unfortunately, Lasheen was incapable of using the card. Although it wasn't sure whether it would bother trying, even if it could; knowing the future could be dangerous, and even Lasheen wouldn't test things like that.

All it had to do was tear the card.

* * *

_The Ronin World_

Anubis launched from the bed, clad only in boxers, and went after the obviously crazed girl. He caught her as she was tearing down the hall and wrapped his hand tightly around her wrist, swinging her around to face him.

In the dark hall, at the edge of the stairs, Anubis stared down into what had once been the face of salvation to him. Now, instead, his angel's eyes were distraught, melted pools of silver, and her mouth was parted on a cry of outrage as she tried to jerk out of his hold. However, his strength had almost completely returned to him, and he held her fast.

"Let go!" she snapped. "I have to find it!"

"Find what?" he demanded, grabbing her other fist as she tried to take a swing at him.

"My seer card!" she growled, throwing herself away from him in a desperate attempt to get away and continue her search. "Let go!"

"Robyn, calm down," Anubis commanded evenly.

After another few minutes of her struggles, she finally started to give up and slumped against the wall. Her breathing was harsh and her head was bent, her long blond hair covering her expression.

She was helpless.

Anubis released his hold and Robyn slid down to sit on the floor. Concerned, he crouched down in front of her, waiting for her to say something.

"I panicked," she muttered. Her voice sounded hollow, muffled. "I'm sorry."

"Explain."

She finally lifted her head, and her eyes were closed as she leaned her head back against the wall. "I've been really tired lately. I think it's because I've lost my seer card. Visions are straining to get in and I can't channel them properly without my card. I didn't even know I'd lost the fucking thing until just a few minutes ago..." She swiped at her eyes and Anubis realized she was crying. Her voice was shuddery, and she looked exhausted as she sat against the wall.

"Why did you panic?" He reached forward and brushed at a tear on her cheek. She opened her eyes.

"Because my seer card is dangerous Anubis. If it gets into the wrong hands, shit could happen that you wouldn't even begin to understand." Her voice, though strained, was edged with steel.

"The future written in that card is definite. You don't get any choices. It just happens. But if somebody powerful enough, like Lasheen, gets a hold of it and sees what will happen, the future could still be suddenly changed by force." She strung out her other two cards. "Time is delicate as hell. Lasheen is powerful enough to break it, if it figures out how to use the cards! And if that happens. This world, and the next, even my own, will be gone! Blamo! Kaboom! Fucking gone!" The bitterness in her voice made him cringe.

"Something else is worrying you," he said after a pause. "It's not just the possibility of worlds being destroyed, is it?"

She shook her head.

"What is it, Robyn?"

She sighed. "Remember when I told you my cards kept my powers in check?"

He nodded.

"Well, that's pretty much the only reason to why they were created. Feeling and past weren't so bad, but the future? Hell... by fourteen, I'd been tossed from one shrink to the next, one institution after the other, because the power drove me insane..."

"Shrink?"

"Sorry. It's just a type of doctor." She rubbed the heels of her hands against her eyes and took a deep breath. "I couldn't even go out in public, it was so bad. Before I got the cards, I couldn't even look at someone without knowing how they were going to die." Robyn closed her eyes. "I don't want to go through that again. If I'm separated from my card for much longer, it will happen. And if Lasheen uses the card... hell... it's pretty much for certain that I'm going to see that kind of shit. I'll crack."

"Will you know if... it uses the card?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. In someone else's hands, it starts to mould to that person's soul. I'll lose the connection with it and my Sight will be completely open."

"We have to tell the others this," he said firmly. He still had questions about her, but he decided she needed a break, and some rest.

"I know," she answered weakly. "Soon. I don't know if I'll be able to face anybody after a while. I'm losing my barriers against my visions." Robyn looked serious as she met his eyes. "I'm going to go insane, Anubis. I'll be dangerous and vulnerable at the same time. I don't have much energy left as it is but..." She closed her eyes and held out her hand.

In it appeared a pair of cuffs. They were thinly wrought silver and looked useless. And Robyn looked even more tired.

"I used these before I got my cards... I made them by accident, actually." She leveled her gaze to his. "When I snap, put these on me. They'll block out my powers and automatically throw me into the Blessed Realm."

"Can't you just make a new card?" he asked, not taking the offered cuffs.

"No." She shrugged. "I don't know how. My cards were passed down from my mother, and they've been in my family for years. They were created to control the family 'gift'. I received them a bit late, granted..." she trailed off and looked lost in the past for a few minutes. "I wonder if Lasheen does know how to use the card... probably..."

"And Katrin? Can she not conjure the card for you?"

At this Robyn again looked ready to cry. "Apparently not since it didn't come over with my other two. I think my barriers on it... I think they resisted Katrin's magic. I don't know..."

"You're exhausted." He stood and held out a hand to her.

Instead of grabbing his hand, she placed the cuffs in his palm. "Use them, Anubis."

He looked at them and then nodded. The bent over and put his hands on her upper arms, pulling her to her feet like a child. Again, as though she was a child, he began pushing her to the stairs.

"You need to sleep," he said simply as she looked back at him.

"I can find my own way," she grumped weakly.

"I wish to be sure you won't collapse before you make it to your bed."

As though his words had predicted her actions, on the way up the stairs, Robyn started wobbling. Without warning, he scooped her up into his arms and carefully climbed the steps.

"-lucky I like him," he thought he heard her mutter.

"What did you say?"

She looked up at him, confused and sleepy. "Nothing."

Raising an eyebrow, he continued his ascent and then carried her down the hall to her room.

"-normally love this kinda thing..."

This time he was sure he heard her say that and as he shouldered the door open he paused.

"Are you talking to yourself?"

Again she looked up. "No.... Why?" she yawned hugely.

"-hate being tired..."

Confused, Anubis made his way to the bed and gently placed her on it.

It was then he realized she'd been clad in only a white t-shirt, panties, and green socks. Good at controlling his expression, he barely managed to keep his eyes from bugging out.

"Nice shortsessss," she mumbled as if reading his thoughts before she pulled her comforter over herself and rolled to her side. She was asleep almost instantly and for a few short moments, Anubis watched her.

She didn't look very relaxed as she slept. All her stress and worries hadn't drained away, carried with her into the land of sleep. She should have looked calm and serene and-

He cursed inwardly and stalked out of the room, shutting off the light and closing the door quietly behind him.

He couldn't get the "gray-eyed angel" images out of his head and constantly compared Robyn to them. He tried as hard as possible to tamp down the need to see her as the serene vision that had saved him under Lasheen's torture. It was impossible! Both to see her as his vision and not to.

More than a little frustrated, he decided sleep was the best option at the moment, and went to his room to carry it out.

* * *

_The Next Morning_

Rowan stared blearily at the ceiling, confusion dominating his features for a few moments. It was still dark, he noted sleepily before pulling himself up.

He glanced over at the clock and his eyes widened.

"Three A.M.!" he exclaimed to himself.

What the hell was he doing up at three in the morning! His normal wake-up time centered around noon or so, but three?!

What had awoken him, anyway?

Rubbing his eyes with his fists he sat up and yawned loudly, feeling wide awake for some reason. When he again opened his eyes, he glanced next to the clock and saw his armor orb sitting there, and he picked it up, rolling it fondly between his fingers. It always gave him a sense of comfort to have his armor so close to him.

Sighing, he still held the orb as he went downstairs to round up some sleep-aides or something. He was still pretty tired, but he knew it was one of those times where you just knew you wouldn't go back to sleep even if you tried.

He glanced outside as he stood at the sink and filled a glass with water. He blinked when he thought he saw something and then rummaged through the medicine cabinet, brushing it off.

You know that feeling where your breathing stops and you feel like your heart has dropped into your stomach, caused by some unfathomable sense that evil is at your doorstep? Right then, Rowan felt that way, and he abandoned his search for sleeping tablets to go to the door that led onto the back deck.

And jumped back with a yell as the boarded door (yeah, it's boarded cause Kaiden shattered the glass) was suddenly pierced by a dozen arrows.

"GUYS! WAKE UP!" he shouted loudly to the rest of the household. "WE'RE UNDER FIRE!" And with that, he brought his armor orb out before him and called on it.

"Armor of the Strata!" he shouted.

Outside, he could see the glowing red of Nether Soldiers as they began pouring from nowhere and surrounded the house. Arrows shot into the window above the kitchen and pierced the walls and when he wore his armor, Rowan busted open the boarded door and led a temporarily one-man defense.

Time had run out.

Lasheen had attacked.

* * *

_I know, I know, I know. It took me forever to get this one out. It just seems like every chapter is getting harder and harder to write and a little less fun, you know? I know that tons of you out there have to agree with me. And this chapter is fairly short, but please don't be mad. Hopefully I'll make up for it._

_Soulfully yours,_

_Gray_


End file.
